The Rumblings of War
by deathstalker11
Summary: Percy Jackson is the contemporary of Lord Voldemort. Being raised in the same orphanage, they were inseparable. After their fall out due to differences in their opinion, he becomes an unofficial ally of the Order of the Phoenix. Read and find out how he becomes a mentor for Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived. Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Harry Potter series.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

 **Flashback**

 _LOCATION-Somewhere at the outskirts of London_

The neighbourhood was sleepy. The streetlights were out of order. One was blinking faintly. It was clear that the lamp wouldn't last another day. There was mild breeze blowing all over. It was cold, dark and dreary. The swings in the nearby park gave off eerie vibe, with their painful moans in the wind.

With a pop, four figures suddenly materialised out of thin air. They were wearing black robes which was billowing out into the wind with silver masks.

There was a rustle in the bushes. One of them pointed a stick in the direction of the bushes and whispered "Avada Kedavra". There was flash of green light, a pitiful whine before it fell dead.

"Oh, its just a stray dog" the same voice called out.

"Well done Avery. I'm sure the Dark Lord feel a lot safer now that you have managed to kill a stray dog. Why don't we wake up this whole neighbourhood and celebrate your mighty victory?" a deep voice rang out, dripping in sarcasm.

"No need to get snarky on me Severus. That could have been an Auror. It's a good thing that I'm keeping my eyes and ears open. The Dark Lord will not tolerate incompetence. Did you do your job Dolohov?" the voice belonging to Avery called out.

"Yes Avery. I did my job. The entire neighbourhood is secure and Yaxley is in his position right in front of the door. We are waiting for the Dark Lord. You seem to be quite excited Avery" a gruff voice belonging to Dolohov replied.

Just as he replied, with a faint pop another figure appeared. He had a pale, snake-like appearance. His glowing red eyes taking in every little detail.

The other fell on their knees, bowing.

"My lord, we have secured the entire neighbourhood and Yaxley is in his position right in front of the door" said Avery, with his head down. Internally, he was terrified with the Dark Lord. Slightest incompetence was met with harsh punishments.

"Very good Avery. You made your Lord proud. Come now, we don't have much time to waste. The sooner we finish the meeting, faster we can get back to our homes" the Dark Lord said in a slow whisper.

The others got up and began walking towards a particular house. As they climbed up the stairs, they saw Yaxley pacing in front of the door.

"My lord, I've been waiting for you. No one has come out of the house and no one has entered" said Yaxley, while falling to his knees and bowing.

"Very good Yaxley. You have once again showed me your usefulness. Avery and Severus, you will follow me into the house. Dolohov and Yaxley, you will stay by the door. No one comes out before I do" the Dark Lord replied.

"Your wish is our command my lord" Yaxley said while bowing even lower.

The dark lord simply knocked three times on the door. The door opened with a pitiful whine. While the dark lord nonchalantly entered the house, Avery and Severus had their wands out and scanning every inch of the house. They came in front of a door which led to study.

The dark lord simply opened the door and walked in, beckoning his two followers to follow him.

As they entered the room, they saw a man in his late twenties or early thirties, poring over a sheaf of parchments with a frown on his face. A glass half-filled with fire whiskey was beside him. He looked up at them and his lips curled upwards. They couldn't decide if it was a smile or a sneer.

"Ah Tom, I'd say how nice to see you after a long time but then I'd be lying. So instead, if I ask you how have you been, I hope you wouldn't mind? Its of course a pleasantry, we can't simply ignore them now, can we? Not that I'm interested in knowing the daily schedule of a formless wraith for the last thirteen years" the man said with a disturbing smile. His smile was sending shivers down Avery's back while Severus simply looked on with blank expression. However, if someone were to observe his closely, they would have noticed the slight widening of his eyes as the only sign of his astonishment and awe.

Never did anyone survive the dark lord's wrath after mocking him. They were either killed or brutally tortured to insanity. Yet, here was a mystery man with a sinister smile who was mocking the dark lord.

The only indication of the dark lord's anger was the slight flaring of his nostrils. His red eyes turned into slits.

"People nowadays call me…"

"Lord Voldemort, Dark Lord, You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Dark Wanker, Dark Tosser and many more. I'm sure each is more fascinating than the other. But I prefer to call you Tom. Creates less confusion. Clarity is so hard to come by these days." replied the man while cutting off the dark lord, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"How dare you mock the dark lord. He will have your head you filthy..."

"Enough Avery. While I appreciate your loyalty and standing up for me, its totally unneeded" the dark said, cutting off Avery.

"Is that what he was doing? Standing up for you like a good little prince?" the man asked with mocking smile.

"Why you…"

"Avery. Why don't take a seat and calm down? Do not embarrass me in front of the host or you will suffer my displeasure. And I urge you not to rile up Avery, Percy. He is faithful but is too easily excited" the dark lord said in a stern tone while looking at Avery.

Avery gave an audible gulp.

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, tell me Tom, to what do I owe this…displeasure of your visit?" asked Percy in a nonchalant tone, as if he was discussing the weather.

"I see your tongue is as sharp as ever Percy" the dark lord replied with narrowed eyes.

"You have no idea where my tongue has been and what it has done" Percy replied with a smirk.

The faintest twitch of his lips was the only sign of Severus's amusement. Never have been the dark lord so thoroughly dismissed and insulted.

"Be that as may, I'm here to give you an offer" the dark lord said in a bored tone.

"The fifteen-year old job offer. I'm sure the conditions and working environment have changed drastically. Tell me, what does working under you entail? Other than torturing and killing muggles, muggle-borns, aurors, any other random witch or wizard happening to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time, worshipping the very ground you walk upon and kissing the dirt of your feet. Did I miss anything?" Percy asked casually.

The dark lord' nostrils flared again. A clear sign of anger.

"Working under me will entail unimaginable power. Also, you get to be my right-hand man and get to train others. You will be answerable to only me and no one else" replied Voldemort.

"As tempting as it sounds, I think I'll pass this time too Tom. I simply want to sit on the side-lines and..."

"How dare you turn down the dark lord's offer" Avery snarled cutting Percy off, mid-sentence. His wand was pointed towards him. "You should consider yourself blessed to be given this offer by the dark lord himself"

Percy's eyes narrowed. A clear sign of his displeasure.

"It seems your lackey needs a lesson on his manners, Tom. He doesn't know how to behave like a guest" Percy replied with narrowed gaze towards Avery.

"Don't try to act high and mighty you filthy, little mud-b… "

" _Crucio"_ a soft hiss rang out in the room, cutting off Avery. Severus identified it as parseltongue. He had been near the dark lord enough times to be able to identify parseltongue. But curiously it was not the dark lords voice.

It was Percy's.

Meanwhile, Avery felt his body explode in pain. It was pain like he never felt before. The dark lord's cruciatus curse was less painful. He felt his very core writhe in excruciating agony.

After what felt like hours, the pain stopped. Avery was passed out from sensory overload, a thin line of drool leaking out of his face.

Severus was slack-jawed. He never believed any one could speak parseltongue, other than the dark lord and that Potter brat, much less cast a wandless spell in it. He never saw his dark lord casting spells in parseltongue.

"Still as adept as ever in parsel magic I see" the dark lord said nonchalantly as if Percy didn't just torture one of his followers to unconsciousness.

"That was parsel magic?" Severus couldn't help but ask.

"Ah Severus, one of my most intelligent and loyal follower. It seems there are things even you don't know anything about. Yes, that was parsel magic. Percy here was always the expert in the obscure and dark arts. It's a pity that he refuses to join us. Come now, our meeting here is finished" the dark lord replied while standing up.

Severus meanwhile lifted Avery by his arms and hobbled out of the door. They exited the building and disappeared with a pop.

As soon as he heard the pop, Percy's face broke into a sinister grin. He exited the house, put up his custom wards and vanished without any sound.

 **Flashback Ends**

At number 12 Grimauld Place, the Order of the Phoenix were having an emergency meeting, presided by Albus Dumbledore. They were hearing the report of the latest recruitment attempt of the dark lord. Recruitment of someone named Percy Jackson. While rest of the order didn't really know who he was, Dumbledore knew him very well.

After Severus Snape, potions master of Hogwarts and spy for the order finished his report, there were jaws hanging wide open all around.

"You mean to say that he not only mocked the dark lord but called him names, refused his offer and tortured one of his loyal followers to unconsciousness with just a wave of his hand. Did I miss anything?" asked Sirius Black. He was a handsome man in his forties with a messy hair but had a haunted look in his eyes, acquired from a 11-year stint in Azkaban, the dreaded prison.

"Yes. All these happened right in front of the dark lord and not only is he alive, the dark lord was unwilling to raise his wand" drawled Severus.

"Albus, do you know this Percy?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt. He was a tall, dark man with a deep voice.

"Yes Kingsley, I know him very well. He studied at Hogwarts with the dark lord. They were in the same year and in the same house. I think they even shared the same room. Both of them joined Hogwarts at the same time, both were raised in the same orphanage and both of them were inseparable. He was a prodigy in runes, potions, transfiguration and arithmancy. He was also a brilliant quidditch player" replied Dumbledore with a tired voice.

The rest of the order was in the deep thought. It was surreal to think that at one time; the dark lord was friends with a guy who was a quidditch player. A disturbing image of the dark lord cheering for a quidditch team passed through Sirius's head.

 _Disturbing indeed,_ he thought.

"Why didn't we send him our offer?" asked Moody. He had a magical eye which was whirling randomly. His face was marred with numerous scars.

"It is because unlike us, he does not denounce the dark arts. He himself invented several dark spells. Being a prodigy in runes and arithmancy, he was inventing spells left and right by the time he was in fifth year. Not all of them were dark, but many of them were" replied the headmaster.

"I don't care Albus. It is clear that he is not against the muggle-borns, does not like dark lord's ideology, doesn't sympathise with the death eaters. On top of it, he is extremely powerful and is willing to play fire with fire. He is exactly the kind of guy we need to fight the death eaters" barked Moody.

"What do you think Severus?" asked the headmaster in a tired voice.

"I think he can be a powerful ally. But we cannot make him an official order member. For one, he won't be taking orders from you Albus. Secondly, the dark lord cannot know under any circumstance about his involvement" he replied.

"Ah yes, I nearly forgot that little problem" the headmaster muttered.

"What do you mean headmaster?" asked Molly Weasley.

"He doesn't believe in our ideals of forgiveness, compassion and love. His outlook is neither light nor dark. Its grey" Dumbledore gave a tired reply.

"He doesn't need to follow our ideals. As long as he can fight the death eaters, he's good enough for us" said Remus Lupin. He was a haggard looking wizard wearing shabby robes.

The headmaster gave a chuckle.

"What?" asked Sirius.

"Voldemort proclaimed himself as the heir of Slytherin. No one really believed him. But Percy was widely known as the Prince of Slytherin. He even received a broom with his title engraved in silver. He is more than capable of taking on the dark lord and beating him. Why else do you think the dark lord was unwilling to raise his wand?" Albus asked with an amused smirk.

"Good. Its decided then we would invite him to become our ally and hopefully join the order" Moody declared while standing up. It was clear that his mind was made up.

"Is it really ok to bring a dark wizard to the order, especially one who will be unwilling to follow the headmaster's orders?" asked Molly with apprehension. Her children were staying here and he could be a bad influence.

"Don't worry Molly. I'm sure we can reason with him" replied Albus soothingly.

Severus couldn't help himself but snort. People like Percy will never embrace the light. He knew them. He himself was one of them.

As the meeting was being wrapped up, no one noticed a pair of ears wiggling at the bottom of the door.

 **Hi guys! This is Deathstalker11 here. This is my first attempt at a cross-over. Percy here is the same age as Voldemort. But since he is a demigod who obtained his immortality, he appears to be around 30. However, he is a genius at magical arts and supports his own agenda. Keep reading to find out more about his personality. All kinds of reviews are welcome. Take care. Deathstaker11 out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Two figures appeared in Percy's neighbourhood. They were here to exact revenge on behalf of their lord. No one mocks and insults their lord and gets away with it. They will always face repercussions.

"Is it the right neighbourhood Yaxley? I'm not that good with places" asked Dolohov in a apprehensive voice. It would not do them any good to get caught. They remembered what happened to Avery and gave an involuntary wince.

Avery was exposed to the cruciatus curse, for just one minute, and he will be bed-ridden for the next month. It seemed as if he lost all his muscle coordination. Thankfully, the Malfoys were looking after him.

"I think this is the place. Yes, I remember that park. Come on, let's get this done with" replied Yaxley.

They walked towards Percy's house in caution, their wands drawn and pointed towards the house.

As they reached the house, Dolohov took a deep breathe.

"Fiendfyre" he softly whispered.

A huge torrent of flames poured out of his wand before taking the shape of different beasts. It was a mesmerising sight. Different mythical beasts fighting each other for domination. It was true chaos.

The house was caught in a blazing inferno. The fire was destroying anything and everything in their path. It soon spread to the nearby houses and before long, the entire neighbourhood was ablaze.

Dolohov gave a satisfied smirk. "At least we know for sure that even if he was in a neighbour's house, he wouldn't survive" he said while grinning, showing his mismatched teeth.

"Come now, our business is finished. We must return to our lord and give him the news" Yaxley replied, all the while giving furtive glances all around him.

They walked away from the raging inferno before apparating away.

 _Two days later…_

Percy was walking along the edges of the forest. His eyes were darting all around him. His heavy combat boots were creating crunching sounds as he trudged slowly towards his destination.

The wind had a chilly bite. He pulled his heavy travelling cloak around him tighter.

Just as he neared the edge of the forest, he suddenly stopped. His wand appeared in his hand and he held it up, while softly muttering an incantation.

His wand tip glowed orange before it stopped. The wand disappeared in his cloak and he started walking to his destination again, a disturbing smile adorning his face.

After a few minutes, he reached his destination. It was a manor. Built in medieval style with brick and mortar, it was an impressive sight. The arches and domes were of marble. It could clearly take a lot of punishment before it collapses.

 _Too bad I'm not interested in dishing out punishment to the manor. This will send an appropriate message,_ he mused.

The chirping of birds and insects suddenly stopped. It was unnaturally calm.

 _Like the calm before the storm_

He raised both his arms to his side and a soft incantation hissed out in parseltongue

 _"Come forth, the sacred serpents of Slytherin. Your master summons you to smite down his enemies"_

He pointed his wand towards the manor while whispering in parseltongue, _"Fiendfyre"_

Eight serpents made of fire sprang out from his wand. They were gigantic. Each about 80 feet long. They surrounded the manner with their heads towering over it. All of them looked towards Percy for his final instruction.

 _"Unleash your divine wrath on my enemies and yours. Purge this place of blasphemy and cleanse it"_

That was all the instruction they needed. Eight fiery heads crashed into the manor, burning anything and everything in their path. Soon desperate screams rang out in the air as the people tried to apparate but were unable to. Their own defence turned into their greatest vulnerability. With his own addition of anti-portkey wards and their floo network cut-off, the manor was totally isolated.

None of the residents could escape the wrath of eight fiery serpents.

The manor was burned down to the ground, the white marble was blackened. Yet the fire continued to burn. Soon the entire forest was ablaze. It will not stop burning until the forest was reduced to cinders.

Percy gave a dark chuckle as he apparated away from the place.

 _One week later…_

Every order member was anxious. Its not everyday you get to meet a contemporary of the dark lord. He has been meeting with Moody for the past five days before it was decided that he would be introduced to the rest of the order.

Moody was singing praises for Percy. Being a retired Auror who spent most of his life fighting against the dark lord and the death eaters, he was the perfect example of paranoia. Only Dumbledore impressed him. Now, Percy took the spot.

As the rest of the order were murmuring among themselves, Moody entered the room with Percy in tow.

He was a tall and handsome. With sea-green eyes and raven-black messy hair, he gave the vibe of a bad boy. The rest of the order was slack-jawed. Tonks was openly blushing.

"Hello everyone. I'm Percy Jackson. Its nice to meet you all finally" he said in a rough voice.

Sirius couldn't help himself. "You are like 30" he blurted out.

Percy narrowed his eyes. Sirius felt as if his entire life was picked apart and laid bare in front of him.

"I'm the same age as Tom. The headmaster knows me well. He can vouch for me" he drawled in a bored voice.

"Percy, its nice to see you after so long. This might be abrupt but we live in dangerous times nowadays. I wish to formally offer you a place in our Order of the Phoenix" Albus replied before anyone could ask something stupid.

Percy had a thoughtful look upon his face. He seemed to be pondering upon the offer.

"I'll ask you the same question I asked Tom when he offered me a place in his ranks, Albus. What does working for your Order entail?" he asked with a straight face.

"I formed the order when Voldemort was at his peak of power. It was formed to combat the menace of death eaters until the aurors arrived. When it was clear that the ministry would rather bury its head in the sand than fight the dark lord, our priorities shifted from containing the death eaters to defeating the dark lord. When he was vanquished by young Harry, the order was disbanded. Now that he rose up again, the order has been reformed" explained Dumbledore.

"Now our priority has shifted again. Instead of defeating him, we are tasked to protect young Harry until such a time he can protect himself or Voldemort has been defeated, whichever comes first" said Lupin.

Percy was in deep thought. he didn't see the appeal of Order. Its objectives were rather vague.

"Let me get this straight. By joining the order, I'll have to obey your commands, possibly being in the dark about the entire situation, which can change according to the mood of a 15-year old teenager?" he asked Albus with a straight face. "Because if that's the case, then I'll pass".

Everyone around the table was silent. Nobody declined their offer before.

"I have nothing against the job you guys do. But I usually operate alone and I definitely hate baby-sitting. There's another small problem of ideals. If someone attacks me, I make sure they never forget the retribution. I'm sure you have heard about the latest attack on Nott manor?" asked Percy.

The room was filled with murmurs. Everyone knew about the attacks. It was one of the deadliest attacks on the dark lord. 3 inner circle members and 12 death eaters in training were killed in the attack. The Nott manor was razed to the ground. There were no survivors. Thankfully, the Nott Sr. and Nott Jr. was away in France when the attack happened.

"The dark lord did say that it was you who attacked. Was the attack a retaliation for the burning down of your neighbourhood?" Severus asked in a curious tone.

"Yes, it was. My neighbourhood was burned down by a Fiendfyre spell. So, I retaliated using one of my own personal modifications of the Fiendfyre spell using parsel magic. The results were spectacular" Percy replied with a disturbing grin.

"Wait, you managed to modify the Fiendfyre spell? I thought the dark spells were rather difficult to modify" exclaimed Sirius. Being from a dark family, he had a rather exhaustive idea of dark spells.

"Normally it would be so. But considering the fact that I'm the one who invented that spell, it took me only a month" Percy replied, all the while smirking at Sirius.

The rest of the Order were stunned into silence. For the first time they realized how powerful the man sitting in front of them was.

"Did you develop the arithmancy from scratch or did you use a basis the required arithmancy?" Severus asked with a curious expression on his face. He himself created several spells during his fifth, sixth and seventh year.

"Oh no. I was in a hurry really so did not have the time to develop the required arithmancy from the scratch. So, I used the arithmancy of the Patronus charm as the basis and spent 2 months modifying it. After another 15 days, I perfected the spell. It was a fool-proof solution for the dementors" he replied happily. No matter how much dark and sadistic his personality may be, he still loved magic. If given a chance, he would happily go on a full geek mode with a fellow intellectual.

"You said one of your own modifications. Does that mean you modified it several times?" asked Tonks. She was a new recruit in the auror ranks and was rather curios.

"Why yes of course. In fact, Albus's favourite spell, the flame whip spell is modification of the Fiendfyre spell. We co-developed it" he replied.

"Ah yes I remember it. Fun times those were. But back to the point. Tell me what'd you make of our offer. Do you wish to join us Percy? I daresay we could do with a wizard of your calibre" Albus asked with a hopeful expression on his face.

Percy let out a deep sigh. "How about I remain as your unofficial ally? I come across any information, you'll be the first to know. If there's any attack where the order can't be seen, I can get into the thick of the action. This is my counter offer. Of course, it works both ways. You come across any information, I get to know about it as well. And I'm definitely not baby-sitting a teenager" he replied.

"Can you give us some time to think? How about an hour?" asked Albus.

"Sure, knock yourselves out. I'll be in the kitchen" he replied while standing up and walking out of the room.

"What do you think about Percy, Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"I think we should accept his offer. He'll be an invaluable ally. We can always ask him to be the groundskeeper of Hogwarts" he replied in a bored voice.

"I hate to say this but I agree with Severus here. He will be an invaluable ally" said Sirius in a dejected voice. Severus simply gave him a condescending smirk.

"Fine then, I'll notify him of our condition. Until we meet again. Take care" replied Albus while standing up. The meeting was adjourned.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. Firstly, I don't own Percy Jackson series or Harry Potter series and any of their characters. Secondly, Harry here breaks out from his shell and will be smart. He will have a more broad-minded view. He will have more friends than just Ron and Hermione. It will also include some Slytherins. Percy here will remain single but I haven't made up my mind about Harry. So, any inputs in that direction is welcome. As usual, keep reading and reviewing. Deathstalker11 out. Take care!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

 _One month later…_

Harry couldn't believe his life could suck even more. With the constant nightmares about the graveyard, the resurrection of Voldemort in front of his eyes, constant headaches, silence from his friends and lest he forgets it, constant bullying from his cousin. Just when he thought his couldn't get worse, he was ambushed by a pair of dementors.

 _Fuck me now,_ he thought.

He was trying hard to bring out his wand. He faced dementors before and it was never a pleasant experience. He would never get used to it.

He could see the pale skeletal hands of the dementors reaching out to him. He could hear a maniac laugh, a woman screaming and a baby crying. He could see the flash of green light.

With one last desperate attempt, he threw the dementor off of him. He reached for his wand and grabbed it.

"Expecto Patronum" he bellowed out. A silver stag burst out from his wand and charged towards the dementors. He guided the stag towards the other dementor who was about to suck the soul of his cousin, Dudley. The dementor got stuck in the antlers of the stag and was thrown away. They made a hasty retreat.

He collapsed on floor due to exhaustion.

 _Let's never do that again,_ he mused.

Suddenly he heard footsteps. It sounded like a heavyset man. He got up and fumbled with his wand.

"If I was a death eater, I'd have stunned your arse and bounded you with ropes by now" came a deep voice. He looked up and saw a man in his early thirties slowly trudging towards him.

He pointed his wand towards him and asked, "Who are you?"

"Relax kid. If I wanted to harm you I'd have done it already and there's nothing you could have done about it. If you don't believe me, ask Mrs. Figg. She'll be arriving any second now" he replied with a slight chuckle.

Just as he finished, there was a sound of running footsteps. Harry pointed his wand towards the sound, only to find Mrs. Figg standing there. He put away his wand.

"Don't put away your wand boy. What if they come back? The danger hasn't passed yet" exclaimed Mrs. Figg.

"Relax Mrs. Figg, I'm here now" the said with an amused chuckle.

"Oh, Percy its you. I feel better already. I need to report this to Dumbledore. I repeatedly warned Mundungus to not leave Harry's side. The next time I see him, I'm definitely killing him. No mercy" Mrs. Figg exclaimed while waving her hands in air.

"Mrs. Figg, why don't you report this incident to Dumbledore? I'm sure young Harry here has a lot of questions" asked Percy.

"Alright you take of Harry here. I'll be off then" she replied and walked away, all the while muttering about how to kill Mundungus Fletcher.

"That was interesting. Now before you ask any questions, let me get something straight. Your reaction time is very poor. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. If you had faced the dark lord, you would have been killed many times over. You need to train hard. Now that's out of the way, let me introduce myself. I'm Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you" he finished with a smile.

"Mrs. Figg is a…"

"Squib. Not a witch. And yes, she's here to keep an eye on you"

"Are you…"

"Heavens no! I don't have the time to baby-sit an angsty teenager"

"Well excuse me for being an angsty teenager. It's not like I've been having dreams of Cedric dying over and over again" replied Harry bitterly.

"Listen kid. This is war. People die in wars. They can be your enemies or your friends. Sometimes you yourself have to take lives of your enemies so that your friends can live. Cedric was at the wrong place and at the wrong time. His death, while most unfortunate and tragic, was a collateral damage, which again is common in war. If you keep blaming yourself about his death instead of working hard to prevent things like that from happening again, there will be many more deaths and not all of them would be your enemies" Percy replied sternly.

Harry was silent the entire time. He blamed himself for his death but deep down, he knew there was nothing he could have done in the situation. But that doesn't make him feel any better. However, his interest was piqued by this mystery man.

"Alright I need some answers" Harry demanded. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Go on, shoot"

"Why are there dementors in Little Whinging?" asked Harry. He has been itching for some answers for a long time.

"There are two possible reasons for dementor presence here. First is our dear old Tom. Though in my personal opinion, it is highly unlikely. Second is the ministry. And before you ask, yes those dementors were meant for you" replied Percy.

"Why would the ministry send dementors after me?" asked Harry, puzzled.

"Good lord! You are as naïve as they come. The ministry thinks that you are a liar. You are mentally unstable and an attention-seeking brat. You are spreading rumours about the rise of a certain dark lord to seek attention. Due to this very nature, you performed a flashy spell in front of muggles. And as far as flashy spell goes, a Patronus charm is almost at the top of the list" replied Percy with deep sigh.

"But can't they determine that it was for self-defence? We are allowed to cast spells for self-defence" asked Harry stubbornly.

"They can't detect magical creatures boy. You are not only naïve but stupid as well" Percy barked back.

Harry fell silent. He was having a difficulty in coming to terms with it. Someone from the ministry wants him dead or expelled. That someone doesn't care about the muggles.

"So, I'm being watched?" asked Harry.

"Yes. Dumbledore has assigned the Order members to watch over you. They are taking turns. Today, it was Mundungus's turn. I came here to warn him not to leave his post. Too bad he already left and you had to deal with the dementors" Percy replied with a sigh.

"What Order?" asked Harry puzzled. This was the first time he was hearing about the existence of such group.

"The Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore founded it when Tom was at the peak of his power. After his defeat the group was disbanded. Now that he has risen again, the group has been reformed. That is all I can tell you at the moment" replied Percy.

"Why is no one answering my letters? Why is everything being kept hidden from me?" asked Harry in anger.

"Dumbledore's orders. While I may not like his orders, I can definitely see the reasons behind them. You want to know why everything is kept hush-hush from you? I suggest you start learning about Occlumency" Percy replied with a narrowed gaze towards Harry.

"What is Occlumency?" asked Harry

"You will know what it is once you start studying it. Here, these are my own notes about how to master the art of Occlumency. Enough questions for today. Now you need to go back. I'll help you along the way, but you need to explain to your relatives about what happened. Expect extraction company soon. Now lift him up" replied Percy while pointing his wand at Dudley.

Harry grabbed his arms and lifted the unconscious boy up. Percy sent a non-verbal stinging hex. Dudley opened his eyes and was struggling to remain at his feet. Percy again pointed his wand at his face and whispered, "Imperio". Dudley's eyes glazed over. He started walking towards his house with Harry close behind him. His jaws were hanging open.

"Did you just cast an…"

"Yes. I could have used a different spell, but this is a lot less effort" replied Percy while cutting Harry off.

Harry shook his head. He was unsure about what to think. At least Percy has given him some answers and shed some clarity on issues that have been bugging him. However, his nonchalant use of an Unforgiveable curse, simply because it was convenient, showed that in general, he was apathetic to muggles or human life.

Just before they reached their house, Percy stopped him.

"Alright listen up, I'm removing the Imperius curse on him. Grab his arms and make sure he doesn't fall over. Keep in mind to study Occlumency and its better you don't mention about it to anyone. Albus wouldn't approve. Expect an extraction company soon enough. I'm removing the curse in 3...2…1…now" Percy removed the curse. Harry had to support Dudley's entire weight and walked towards their home. He looked back at Percy to see him give a small smile before apparating out from there into the darkness.

After a big fight involving the Dursleys and owls from the ministry, Harry collapsed on the bed. He was completely spent. His mind kept playing his conversation with Percy. He noted the fact that he called Voldemort, Tom. Nobody knew his real name, except for Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione.

 _Who was Percy?_

 _How did he know him?_

 _Is he a member of the Order?_

 _Why does he want him to master Occlumency?_

 _Why to keep it a secret?_

His mind kept replaying these questions but there were no answers. Eventually, he gave up his search for answers for the time being and embraced the land of dreams.

* * *

Cyrus Greengrass never expected to see his old friend after 15 years. It was a pleasant surprise. The last time they met, he had just taken up his lordship duties and his friend was in the ministry. He never really knew in which department. The dark lord seemed unstoppable at that time and yet, his friend was as serene as ever.

 _He has a bloody good reason to be, if half of the things I heard about him were true_ , he mused.

"Cyrus, aren't you gonna invite me in?" asked Percy with an amused smile on his face.

"I'm sorry Percy, I was just reminiscing the old times. Please do come in" replied Cyrus, thoroughly flushed.

As Percy stepped out from the floo, his eyes darted around. Within a second, his brain processed his new location. Exits, potential exits, cover spots, ambush spots, hiding places etc. Cyrus rolled his eyes.

"In which ministry department did you work that made you so paranoid? I always thought Alastair had it bad" Cyrus said while rolling his eyes.

"As snarky as ever, eh? Oh, hey Roxanne" Percy replied, while waving at Roxanne.

"Percy! It's so nice to see you again. Where have you been for the past fifteen years? We searched everywhere but it was as if you disappeared from the face of the earth" Roxanne exclaimed.

At that moment, Daphne entered the room. She saw her parents talking excitedly with a man. He was in his early 30s, had a sea-green eyes and messy, jet-black hair. The man met her eyes.

"Is that Daphne? My word she sure has grown up. The last time I saw her, she was just a few months old" Percy exclaimed.

Daphne felt her face heat up.

"Anyway, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I'm in a bit of a pinch. Would you mind lending me a hand?" Percy asked sincerely. He didn't have many friends. But the Greengrasses were genuine friends.

"Sure. Do we need to go to my study?" asked Cyrus apprehensively.

"No. Its nothing that serious. Tell me, what were the regulations for governing of the dementors?" asked Percy, his eyes closed.

"Er… I think that you need the approval of the DMLE head. Without that, you cannot contact the dementors" replied Cyrus uneasily.

"Even the minister?" asked Percy, his eyes still closed.

Roxanne and Daphne looked at each other, puzzled expression adorning their faces.

"What exactly do you want to know Percy?" asked Cyrus with a sigh.

"I want to know if the minister has authority over the dementors" replied Percy.

"Not directly no. The minister does not have authority over the dementors. Only the DMLE head has. Of course, the DMLE is duty-bound to give protection to the minister, and they can use the dementors if they want" Cyrus replied.

Percy was in deep thought. He knew Fudge did not have the guts to send dementors over to Private Drive. The most logical conclusion would be the DMLE head, but he knew Amelia Bones. She wouldn't abuse her power. So, it falls to reason that someone else requested the dementors.

"Can anybody else request for the dementors?" Percy asked, his face still in deep thought.

"No. Only the minister and his senior undersecretary can request the dementors" Cyrus replied uneasily.

Percy perked up.

"What's this about a senior undersecretary?" Percy asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Oh, Dolores Umbridge. She's a nasty piece of work. Worships the very ground upon which Fudge walks. Loyal only to the minister. I think you know her. You will remember if you see her toad-like face. Has a fetish for cats. She's not that good with a wand but she is a vicious politician" he replied grimly.

Percy's eyes narrowed. He found his culprit. But he didn't have any proof to convict her. He'd jut have to wait and keep a watch on her.

"By the way Percy" Cyrus started hesitatingly. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Did the Dark Lord visit you?" Cyrus asked apprehensively.

"Yes, he did" replied Percy.

"What did he want from you?"

"He wanted to recruit me in his ranks"

"Did you…."

"No. I didn't"

"You didn't?"

"No"

"That's good to know. But I was under the impression that if someone turns down the dark lord's offer, they usually don't live to see another day"

"While its mostly true, I'm not someone now, am I?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course you are not. You are the Prince of Slytherin" replied Roxanne, grinning. "So tell me, what did you tell him when he asked you to join him?" she asked with a knowing smirk.

"Nothing much of course. Just called him a few names, insulted him and tortured one of his lackeys. It wasn't much, but apparently he's bed-ridden for a month" Percy replied nonchalantly.

"What names did you call him?"

"Cyrus!"

"Never mind"

"As much fun it is to stay and chat, I've places to be and people to threaten. I'll catch up with you guys later. Toodles!" Percy replied while disappearing in a burst of green flames from their fireplace.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. I've decided to pair up Harry with Daphne here. Also, I have a big surprise for Harry surviving the Killing Curse. Keep reading and reviews are always appreciated. Take care. Toodles!**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Daphne was still slack-jawed. She knew for a fact that no one has ever called the dark lord names on his face and lived to tell the tale. It was so unreal.

Roxanne met her daughter's gaze and giggled.

"Alright Daffy, shoot"

"Who's he?"

"He is Percy Jackson. He is a friend of your father and my apprenticeship master"

"But he's barely 30"

"He looks like that but he's well over 30"

"You did your runes apprenticeship under him?"

"Yes. Lily and I did our runes apprenticeship under him"

"Lily?"

"Lily Potter nee Evans"

Daphne was dumbstruck. Her mother was friends with Harry Potter's mother. She never imagined her parents to be friends with the parents of the Boy-Who-Lived. But she can think about them later. She wanted to know about this mysterious Percy Jackson.

"How is he still alive if he insulted the dark lord? What did dad mean by calling him 'Prince of Slytherin'?"

"Not many know this and it'd be wise of you to not disclose this to anyone. Percy Jackson was the closest friend of the dark lord. They shared the same room together for all seven years of their stay in Hogwarts. He was a prodigy in Runes, Transfiguration, Potions and Arithmancy. Always secured the top place in exams. Had a record number of OWLs and NEWTs. The record is still unbeaten. The dark lord was proclaimed to be the 'Heir of Slytherin' for his ability to speak parseltongue. Due to his intelligence, cunning and his ability to speak parseltongue like a second nature, he was proclaimed as the 'Prince of Slytherin'. He was also a brilliant quidditch player" Roxanne replied, while taking a deep breath.

Daphne was awestruck. No wonder he got away from insulting the dark lord to his face. Anyone else, and they would have been begging for their deaths the next day.

She slowly trudged to her room, with several thoughts and questions swirling around her head.

* * *

Out of thin air, Percy materialized. He managed to perfect the art of apparition and could now apparate without a sound or wand. To his enemies, it appears that he dissolved in thin air or simply materialize out of nowhere. He used it to great effect during his duels to confound or demoralize his opponents.

Percy's eyes darted everywhere. He was in Hogsmead, the wizarding village. As usual, he took in his surroundings, including all points of tactical interest. It was simply his second nature. He slowly started walking towards Hogwarts.

As he climbed the stairs to the Headmaster's office, he came across the Gargoyle. He let out a deep sigh.

"Acid Pops" he muttered.

The gargoyle sprang to life and moved aside, granting him entrance. He climbed another flight of stairs before reaching the office. He knocked twice before opening the door and stepping inside.

"Ah Percy, I was waiting for you. Fancy a Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore asked in his grandfatherly voice.

"Perhaps some other time Albus. Tell me, why did you summon me to your office?" asked Percy, his eyebrows twitching. He was on the verge of a breakthrough in his project for the past five years before he received an urgent summon from the headmaster.

"I wanted to inform you that Harry will be res….er…escorted from Private Drive to Grimauld Place. I wanted you to be a part of the team" Dumbledore replied while hastily covering up his slip of tongue. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think that I'd even imagine myself to be a part of such team? I have much more important work to do other than escorting a teenager" Percy replied shortly.

"Pity, I'm sure the rest of the Order could have used your expertise in flying and duelling. Well, I can't force you to do something that you do not wish to. However, I have a request. While you do not have to escort Harry, I urge you to be a part of the rear-guard unit. I'm sure its unlikely, however, should the escort party be ambushed, the rear-guard unit rushes to take care of the Death Eaters. As much busy as you are, I'm sure you would not pass up an opportunity to show up a few wannabe dark wizards" Dumbledore replied with the characteristic twinkling of his eyes.

Percy massaged his forehead. He was getting a migraine. All he wanted to do was work on his synchronous rune clusters with a glass of firewhiskey at his side. Is that too much to ask? First Voldemort, now the Order.

"If the escort party is not ambushed?"

"Then I suppose you see no action. You simply have to stay in Grimauld Place until they arrive, doing whatever you fancy" replied Dumbledore.

"Fair enough. It's a win-win for me. Is that everything you wanted to say?" asked Percy, his eyes closed.

Dumbledore let out a heavy sigh. Only Percy would consider this kind of situation, win-win.

"There's another request. The current gamekeeper of Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid, is currently unavailable due to some Order business. As the post is currently empty, I'd like you to take it up" Dumbledore replied.

"Here's a deal for you. I take up Hagrid's post and you pay me whatever you paid Hagrid, in return, I get to teach Harry some extra stuff" Percy stated, his eyes closed the entire time.

"What kind of stuff are we talking about? I'm not too sure how the teachers here would feel if they come to know that you are doing their job" Dumbledore replied warily.

"I won't be teaching him the school stuff. I'm not his tutor. I'll be teaching him some stuff which is not taught at school. Like Occlumency and its applications, some advanced duelling techniques like using transfiguration and so on. Nothing dark or strictly illegal" replied Percy, his eyes still closed.

Dumbledore gave a deep sigh.

"Very well Percy, we'll have it your way. I only ask you to inform me when you are about to teach him something and what it is. We have a deal. Would you like to use Hagrid's hut or perhaps, you'd like to construct your own?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be using Hagrid's hut, but only after I clean the place thoroughly. I'll report to you in the last week of August" replied Percy with a smirk while opening his eyes. His eyes had an ethereal glow. He stood up and walked towards the door, his eyes darting everywhere. Just as he was about to exit, he spoke up.

"I'm sure you know this but still, Harry must not know what he is until he masters the art of Occlumency" he said in a bored tone while shutting the door behind him, leaving a slack-jawed Dumbledore in darkness.

* * *

Bill Weasley was waiting for Percy for the better part of the hour. Yesterday, Dumbledore messaged him, using one of the portraits of Phineas Nigellus Black, to expect Percy's arrival this morning. He was to be a part of the rear-guard unit, along with himself, his father, his brother, his sister and Hermione. Sirius was with Buckbeak, sulking by himself. He was barred from exiting the house.

He suddenly saw Percy, materialising from thin air. His sea-green eyes were darting around everywhere. Bill always found his behaviour fascinating. While Moody was overtly paranoid and made sure others knew it as well, which often resulted in him being the butt of their jokes, Percy made sure that no one, who didn't know him, knows about his paranoia.

 _Its like taking paranoia to whole new level,_ Bill mused.

Percy's eyes caught Bill's gaze. His lips curled upwards into a smile. Bill shifted nervously on his feet. Truth be told, he was intimidated by Percy and his smiles were always disturbing. Everyone at the Order turns their faces away whenever he grins. It was as if he found his prey and wishes to play with it. Bill gave an involuntary shudder as Percy approached him.

"Ah Bill, I expected you to be a part of the extraction team, not the rear-guard" Percy said with the same disturbing smile adorning his face as his eyes were darting around everywhere furiously.

"They wanted to take only those whom Harry knew personally, except for Tonks, Hestia and Shacklebolt" Bill replied uneasily.

"Bloody good decision if you ask me, mate" Percy mused.

"Come now, mother must be worrying about us. I'll show you your room. You should love it" replied Bill while gazing at a person who caught Percy's eye.

"Lead the way" replied Percy while narrowing his eyes at a particularly shifty looking individual.

Just as Bill was about to take the turn which would have had them in front of Grimauld Place, Percy grabbed his arm and vanished into thin air.

They appeared in a dark alley a few blocks away from Grimauld Place.

"What the he…mmpphh" just as Bill was about to start, Percy placed his hand on his mouth and gestured with his finger. When Bill looked where he was pointing, he saw the same shifty person.

"Wand out Bill and follow me. Watch my back. That guy is a Death Eater and I'm not sure if he is alone. Either case, he's not going back alive" Percy whispered to Bill before stealthily stalking his prey.

After 5 minutes of stalking, they managed to corner him in a particularly dark and pungent smelling alleyway. Percy had a feral grin adorning his face. He turned to Bill and whispered one last command which made him shudder.

"Watch the alley entrance. If anyone enters, drop them. I don't care if its an old man or a child, just drop them. If you can't obliviate, then kill them"

Bill pointed his wand towards the alley entrance and took cover behind a dumpster. He heard a bang followed by a pained moan behind him. He didn't dare turn his head back, lest he lose his breakfast.

"Tell me, scum, are you alone? Did the dark lord send you?" Percy asked the man while stepping on his broken arm. The man howled in pain.

"Pathetic" Percy spat on him before taking out his wand and muttered "Crucio".

The man felt his very core explode in pain and agony. He writhing and twitching continuously and involuntarily. He wanted to bang his head, to cut off his arms, to do anything that will make this pain stop. It was excruciatingly agonizing. His screams went silent, his voice box ruptured long ago.

After what felt like hours, he felt the pain stop. His breathing was laboured and he was shivering involuntarily.

"Are you ready to talk?" Percy asked in distaste. The man was mumbling something incoherently. Percy turned him on his side and saw that he was drooling and mumbling. He rolled his eyes, scrunching his face in disgust.

Bill put up a notice-me-not charm at the alley entrance and turned his face towards Percy. He saw Percy staring at the man, while he was in the ground mumbling incoherently and drooling. He watched as Percy narrowed his eyes in concentration and the man began to writhe about uncontrollably. His face contorted in agony as he was trying to bash his head on the ground. Bill looked away. He couldn't imagine the kind of torture which makes a man want to bash his head on the ground.

"Ah man, that was a nasty piece of business. Good thing we caught him when we did. Grimauld Place would have been compromised" Percy replied while shaking his head. Bill looked at him uneasily and then looked at the man who was lying on the ground like yesterday's trash. Percy caught his gaze and looked at the man.

"He is useless now, both to us and to the dark lord. They won't find him for a long time. It might be even a few months before he is recovered. The dark lord will take one glance before killing him. So tell me Bill, do we kill him or make him suffer more for indefinite amount?" Percy asked casually, as if asking for the result of quidditch match.

Bill has never encountered this kind of situation before. He couldn't decide whether to kill the man or to leave him to his fate. He didn't want to be a killer but he couldn't leave the man to his fate as well, it was inhuman. He looked at Percy in desperation.

"If we were the death eaters, this man might have been someone important to us. We would have kept him hostage and tortured him till he became a vegetable, like we did just now. Then, we would have sent a message to the order, stating that we have someone important to them in our custody. Let go of the death eaters in prison before he dies. The order would have been desperate and they would release the prisoners. By the time the order recovered him, he's already a vegetable" Percy replied slowly. He wanted Bill to see that the world is not a nice place. It was a harsh and unforgiving place where your slightest errors in judgement can land you in a life or death situation.

Bill was pale. He never even imagined in his wildest dreams that the death eaters could do something horrible. He felt stupid and weak. What would he have done if it was his parents, or one of his brothers or worst case, his sister. He felt unprepared and disgustingly weak.

Percy let out a sigh. He walked towards the man, pointed his wand towards him and muttered, "Avada Kedavra". A flash of green light struck the man and he was dead before he even knew it. Bill was staring at the dead man with a hollow expression.

"We are not death eaters. We make sure our victims are dead when they are no longer useful. We don't keep them as trophies to antagonize our enemies" Percy replied as grabbed Bill's arm and vanished from the spot.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. I have tried to shed some more light on Percy's dark personality. I really don't like how Molly babies her children. Ron, Harry and Ginny I can understand. But Bill, Charlie and the twins are old enough to make their own decisions. Therefore, Bill is the first one whom Percy 'converts', much to Molly's dismay. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing to find out more. Since my native language is not English, I urge you to point out any mistakes that might happen due to this fact. Deathstalker11 out. Toodles!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Harry was sitting on his bed, Indian style with his eyes closed, meditating. The first step Percy's handbook for Occlumency suggested that he categorizes his emotions. It was rather difficult. The first few times, he was reduced to tears after replaying Cedric's death many times over. Its only after the 7th replay did he finally understand Percy's words.

Cedric was a collateral damage, nothing more nothing less. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing he could have done that would have prevented his death. He was after all, simply _the spare._

He started categorizing his memories in boxes. All the abuse, torture, beatings etc. went into a box. He then shoved the box in a dark corner. He repeated the process for all his memories. Some of it was agonizing, especially his memories involving his mother. All he remembered is a woman begging the dark lord to spare her son, a flash of green light followed by a cold laughter. He knew that the woman was his mother. In his desperation to see his mother and to hear her voice, he replayed it several times. Only after he replayed it for quite some time, he realised that in his desperation, he didn't notice that all he was watching was his mother begging for her death in her son's stead.

He couldn't decide whether to be happy or be disgusted in his morbid fascination.

Just a he was about to wallow in self-pity and disgust, he heard a crash in the kitchen below. He knew that the Dursleys were out and they won't be coming back this soon. Frankly, he would prefer if they didn't return at all. It could mean a burglar.

He soon discarded the thought as soon as he heard voices. Burglars would be quiet. The intruders were certainly not troubling themselves to be quiet.

 _Death Eaters,_ he mused.

He quickly grabbed his wand and his baseball bat and repositioned himself beside the door hinge. He steadied his breadth. Percy chided him once that his response was so flustered and clumsy to a dangerous and potentially fatal situation that he leaves himself open to follow-up attacks. He won't be making the same mistakes twice…er…more than twice.

As the footsteps grew louder, he took deep breadths while adjusting his grip on the bat. He could hear someone jiggling with the locks.

Just when he was about to blast the door himself, underage magic be damned, and go out with wands blazing, he heard a growling voice calling out to him.

"Stand down boy, before you take out someone's eye or their head"

"Professor Moody?" he asked tentatively.

"I don't know about 'Professor', never got round to much teaching, did I" Moody replied.

"Exactly. So please forgive me if I don't take your word at its face value" Harry replied tersely.

Moody gave a snort.

"I like you kid. I can already see Percy rubbing off on you. Alright, how about you ask us a question which only we would know?" Moody asked, his eyes gleaming.

"And by 'we' you mean…" Harry asked, involuntarily gripping his wand tighter.

"Its us Harry, the Order of the Phoenix" replied a voice which Harry hadn't heard for a year.

"Professor Lupin?" he asked.

"Yes, but please call me Remus" Lupin replied.

"Alright, who's Buckbeak and what's his new name?" he asked in a tense voice, his wand pointed at the door.

"Buckbeak is a hippogriff and he's been renamed to Witherwings" replied an unfamiliar voice, a woman's.

Harry gave a sigh and cautiously opened the door. His eyes darted around, taking in the number of people crowded in front of the door. He noticed that the people standing at the back had their wands out. He tightened his grip on his wand.

"Easy now. Lets all put our wands away. Apparently, Harry here is a bit jumpy. Wotcher Harry" said a young woman with violet hair.

"Hi…um…who are you again?" Harry asked, feeling a bit stupid at his awkwardness.

Remus gave a deep sigh.

"Well you know me and Moody. This is Kingsley Shacklebolt" he said pointing towards a tall, dark man at the back who had his wand out and was pointing it at the main door. He gave a nod towards him.

"This is Hestia Jones" Lupin pointed towards another woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She gave a smile towards Harry.

"This is Nymphadora –"

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus" said the violet-haired witch with a shudder, "Its Tonks"

"Nymphadora Tonks, who likes to be called only by her last name" finished Remus.

"You guys are the extraction team?" Harry asked dubiously.

"Yes, we are the extraction team. You already knew about us?" asked Moody apprehensively.

"Percy gave me a heads-up a few days ago. I have my bags packed since then" he replied. Moody let out a sigh of relief.

"Very good Harry. Let's get going then" Remus said happily.

"Are we going to the Burrow?" Harry asked anxiously. He was looking forward to spend his time with Ron and Ginny.

"Ah no, we'll be going somewhere else. But don't worry, your friends are all there" Remus replied.

"So we'll be flying?" Harry asked, on seeing brooms zoom out from the air towards them.

"Yes. You are too young to apparate and floo network can be intercepted. Side-along apparition will leave you vulnerable. So flying it is" replied Remus.

"Could have used a bit more cloud cover" Moody muttered. "Alright listen up. Harry, Tonks will be right in front of you. Keep on her tail at all times. Remus will be on your side and I'll be behind you. The rest will be circling us, both above and below. We'll be flying in close formation. If any one of us is killed, don't stop and break ranks, keep flying. If all of us are dead and you survive, Harry, keep flying east. The rear-guard is standing by to take over and I daresay Percy is hoping for something like that".

"He might think you are not being serious Mad-Eye" said Tonks as she strapped Harry's trunk into a harness hanging from her broom.

"I'm just telling him the plan" Moody grumbled.

"Mount up. There's the signal" said Lupin sharply, pointing into the sky.

Harry swung his leg over his Firebolt and gripped its handle tightly. He could feel it vibrating lightly.

"Let's go" Lupin said loudly.

Harry kicked off hard from the ground and zoomed into darkness.

* * *

As soon as Harry arrived at Number 12 Grimmauld Place he was treated to a bone-crushing hug by Hermione. Molly had sent him straight upstairs where his friends were waiting.

"Oi! Let him breathe 'Mione" Ron said with an amused tone.

"Harry, how are you holding up? We were so worried. We heard about your Patronus Charm. They can't expel you from Hogwarts" Hermione began saying in her rapid-fire mode.

"Easy 'Mione, I'm fine. They have stayed my expulsion pending a formal hearing" Harry replied. "So, what is this place?" he asked, looking around curiously.

"It's Sirius's place, currently the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It was abandoned for so long that we are having a hard time cleaning this place up. I swear if there's one more Doxy near my head I'm using Unforgiveables on them" Ron replied, his eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

Harry looked at Ron with wide eyes while Hermione gave him a scandalous look.

"RON! I swear Percy is being a bad influence on you. The next time I see him, I'm gonna shove his wand –"

"Give it a rest Hermione. Mum may not like him but there's no denying that he's right. We need to up our games to take on the death eaters and win" Ron replied testily, cutting Hermione off.

"Hang on, I think I'm missing something here. Percy is staying here? He is a part of the Order? I thought he said he can't be bothered with Order business" Harry asked with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"He is not. His function is like an advisor" replied Fred who appeared out of thin air with a loud crack.

"Damn! Still couldn't perfect it" said George as he appeared with another loud crack.

"What are you two talking about? You managed a perfect apparition" said Harry, bewildered.

"Mate, you haven't seen Percy apparate. He simply vanishes and reappears. There's no sound. Not even a whisper. That's perfect apparition and its bloody difficult" replied Ron with a look of awe in his face.

"Language Ron! Harry, have you met him?" asked Hermione while admonishing Ron.

"Yeah, after I met the dementors. He told me a little about the Order and what's exactly going on now" Harry replied shortly. He didn't want to talk about his meeting with Percy.

"What do you guys think of him?" he asked.

"He's brilliant" exclaimed Fred and George in perfect sync.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's hot" replied Ginny who entered the room.

"No one knows his real age, except for Dumbledore, but he's way more than 30" replied Hermione.

"They are having a meting downstairs right now. If we are careful enough, we can still listen to them" said George, his eyebrows wiggling as he brought out his Extendable Ears.

"Extendable Ears Harry. Can extend upto 40ft. Anymore and the reception gets garbled" explained Fred as he unwounded the flesh coloured string which was attached to a pair of wiggling ears.

"They have been using it to eavesdrop on the Order meeting ever since we arrived in this house" Ron whispered to Harry while eagerly waiting for the ear to reach the door below them, where the meeting as being held.

Just as the ear reached the door, they could here people talking in mumbled voices. Harry could identify several of them.

"Are you sure Moody you were not followed by anyone? Bill and I recently…er…apprehended a death eater just a few blocks away from the Grimmauld Place" Percy asked with a tone of disappointment.

"Firstly, let me reassure both you and Dumbledore that we weren't followed by anyone. Secondly, we both know that you didn't apprehend the death eater Percy" replied Lupin while sending a glance towards Dumbledore.

"What is this about apprehending death eaters? This is the first time I'm hearing about this" asked Dumbledore while gazing at Bill, who was shifting nervously in his seat.

"Just as I arrived here yesterday, I noticed that we were being followed. In order to lose the tail, we led him in a wild goose chase which _happened_ to end up in him being struck in an alley. Well I politely asked him why he was following us…"

Bill gave a snort at this which was promptly met by a furious glare from Percy before continuing.

"When he refused to speak, I…er…convinced him that it was in his best interest to come clean. The important thing is that we gained valuable intel on enemy plans and the immediate threat has been neutralized" finished Percy, all the while shifting under narrowed gazes of both Severus and Dumbledore.

"You convinced him, you say? Is he in a position to walk or talk with us?" asked Sirius dubiously.

Bill gave another snort which was promptly followed by another glare from Percy.

"Mr. Weasley, why don't you tell us what exactly happened?" asked Dumbledore with an apprehensive expression.

Ignoring Percy's glares, Bill began narrating the whole incident in detail, leaving out the part where he explained him about the difference between them and the death eaters.

There was a stunned silence all around the house. Both the meeting hall and the eavesdropping wizards were slack-jawed. Molly was frowning at Percy while Fred, George and Ginny had stars in their eyes. Ron couldn't decide whether to be horrified or awestruck. Hermione had scandalous look on her face. She couldn't condone Percy's behaviour under any circumstances. They all turned to Harry to gauge his reaction.

He had a thoughtful look on his face. He couldn't decide if his methods were admissible. His results were fool proof, because Voldemort was extremely pissed. Apparently, the death eater, named Rosier, had been a part of his inner circle. To have his secrets wrenched out from Rosier's head was a big blow to his plans. The fact that he knew several of his plans without anybody's knowledge didn't help matters at all. He threw a fit which resulted in several of his inner circle members being Crucio'd. It was a big mess.

Harry made his decision. Advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. He already once paid for being too lenient. He was the one who let Peter Pettigrew live and paid for his soft nature by Cedric's death. He wouldn't make the same mistake again.

His face lit up in approval.

"Harry! How could you support him? What he did was horrible and inhuman. No one should suffer like that" Hermione exclaimed on seeing Harry's face, waving her arms in air.

"Tell that to Neville, Hermione. Why should we be the only ones who suffer? I'm tired of watching my friends die and get tortured. Its time we pay them back in full. I'd rather have the Death Eaters dead than you, Hermione. So please forgive me if I don't share your sympathies because I like seeing you alive and happy than seeing you dead or worse, like the Longbottoms" Harry replied testily.

Hermione was quiet. She didn't have any comeback to that. While what he said was true, it still went against everything she believed in.

Just then they heard the sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs. Fred gave the ears a hearty tug; there was another loud crack and he and George vanished. Just a few seconds later, the door opened and Molly entered the room, looking around suspiciously.

"Dinner time kids. Chop chop. Ginny your hands are filthy. Make sure you wash your hands before you eat" she ushered them downstairs.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. My updates have been a bit delayed, for that I apologise. It has come to my notice that I had misspelled the incantation of the Killing Curse. I have corrected them. Also, there was a request to make Percy have a common invulnerability. I'm still working on that. So, any suggestions in that regard is always welcome. Keep reading and reviewing guys. Deathstalker11 out. Toodles!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Percy met his eyes. He felt a slight pressure in his head before he averted his eyes. He realized that Percy tried using Legilimency on him.

He was furious. How dare he try to read his mind.

He kept glaring at Percy which did not go unnoticed by the others, especially by Molly who was gazing at him.

Just as they finished their dinner, Harry gave Percy a glare and spoke up.

"Did you just try to read my mind?" he asked testily. Everyone else was looking at Percy while he had his eyes closed.

He opened them and met Harry's gaze.

"Good job on figuring that out. It's the second step to master Occlumency. Identifying whether you are under attack or not. I see you have not been wasting your holidays then. Keep up the good work and you'll be able match Tom in mind arts" replied Percy with an amused smile.

A frown adorned Harry's face. It was all a test. He felt like kicking himself.

"Harry's too young to learn such advanced arts; not to mention that its illegal to teach an underage wizard Occlumency" said Molly in a low, dangerous voice.

Percy gave her a smirk.

"It is?" he asked, feigning surprise, "I only wish they passed this law when we were in Hogwarts. I wouldn't have taught Occlumency and Legilimency to Tom then".

The rest of the table were dumbstruck.

"How exactly are you learning Occlumency, Harry? You'd be hard-pressed to find books on it in the bookshops" asked Sirius dubiously.

Harry looked at Percy who gave him a nod.

"Percy here gave me his handwritten notes on mind arts and their advanced applications. I can't really stop a Legilimency attack, but I can at least detect it, which I did when I entered the kitchen. Percy here was testing me whether I've been learning it or not" Harry replied, somewhat meekly.

"It is a very irresponsible thing to do. Harry's mind could have been left more vulnerable. He's too young to learn such advanced magic" said Molly while glaring at Percy.

"That's a pretty pathetic excuse Molly. You should come up with a better one next time. Its better he learns this now than having Tom ravage his mind and implanting visions and false memories" Percy replied, his eyes narrowing. He turned his gaze towards Harry.

"I'm surprised actually. I thought you'd be asking questions about Voldemort and the meeting the moment you stepped in here". Harry gave an audible gulp.

"He's too young to be asking questions about Order meetings, Percy. Dumbledore told us not to tell him anything more than he needs to know" said Molly.

Percy gave a snort.

"I'm sure they already know more than they need to, Molly. With the twins here, I wouldn't be surprised if they have already figured out a way to eavesdrop on our meetings" said Percy while smirking at the twins, who were shifting nervously in their seats.

"Er…what about Voldemort? What's he up to?" Harry interrupted before Molly could cut in.

"I already told you the order, the ministry and the Daily Prophet - and their views on you? Voldemort, on the other hand, is laying low for now. He is amassing his army back. He can hardly take on the ministry with a dozen death eaters now, can he?" replied Percy.

"That's it? He is simply gathering his army back? Why would he not start a reign of terror? People are afraid of him. Some of them even approve his ideals. So why not announce his return? He can get more followers in shorter amount of time" asked Harry incredulously.

"It's easier gathering followers in secret, trust me on this. If he announces his return, he will be proving to the world that Dumbledore is right. Its better to let the ministry and Dumbledore fight each other than find a common enemy. Well that's one of his reasons" replied Percy, his eyes closed once again.

"You mean he has more than one reason for laying low? What is it?" asked Harry with a curious expression. The rest of the table were looking at them with an uneasy expression.

"He wants something. Something which he didn't have last time. A weapon of sorts. But its well-hidden in the ministry and has some unusual quirks which is or will prevent him from obtaining it. I can't tell you anymore, not unless you master Occlumency" replied Percy with a finality in his tone. Harry nodded glumly before rising up.

Percy turned towards the twins and gave them a disturbing grin. The twins froze in their place while nervously looking at him.

"I heard that you were interested in opening a joke shop?" he asked them. The twins looked at each other before they nodded in perfect sync.

"I have a proposition for you guys. Would you like to hear me out?" he asked them, all the while a sinister smile adorning his features.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione were in their room, chatting with each other when the twins and Percy entered. The twins had identical grins on their faces. They all looked at Percy expectantly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Well? Do I have something on my face?" he asked.

"Ah no – we were wondering if you would teach us Occlumency too. It'll be advantageous because then we can keep the information secure" Hermione replied earnestly.

Percy had a thoughtful expression on his face. It was true that there were many advantages if Harry and his friends master mind arts. They need not have to keep information from each other in that case.

"Well Harry is studying on his own. I've decided to become the technical advisor for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I don't see why you guys should not improve yourself magically, be it mind arts" Percy replied smirking towards Hermione.

"You are taking them under your wing?" Ron asked pointing towards the twins.

"Yes, I am. Your brothers are quite gifted, in fact. I would have loved to have them as my apprentice in runes, potions or arithmancy. Unfortunately, you need to complete your Hogwarts education for the apprenticeship. It's a shame really, when you are denied brilliant students just because of archaic rules" replied Percy looking a bit disheartened.

"Um…Percy, what exactly are you gonna teach us?" asked Fred exchanging a look with George.

"To improve your joke products and to generate more innovative ideas, you need a strong foundation in runes, arithmancy and potions. I'll make sure you are at master level which will take roughly 2 years. I never imagined I'd have another student after Roxanne and Lily" replied Percy, his eyes unfocussed as he was reminiscing the past.

There was a stunned silence. The trio along with the twins and Ginny had their mouths wide open.

Harry never imagined that the man standing in front of him was his mother's teacher. For one, he didn't look old at all. Secondly, he never imagined his mother's teacher was a friend of Voldemort.

After dinner, Ron had brought him up to speed with Percy's exploits. Needless to say, he was both dumbstruck and impressed.

"By Lily…do you by any chance mean Lily Potter?" asked Harry with a hopeful look on his face.

Percy realised his slip of tongue. He never wanted to give out that information this early, not before Harry mastered Occlumency. If he lied now, he would be in trouble later. Its better to tell him the truth. He won't lie – but he won't give out the entire truth either.

He let out a deep sigh.

"Yes Harry, I meant your mother; though she was Lily Evans at that time. She and Roxanne were the top students in runes during their time in Hogwarts. Your mother was very gifted in runes. She also perfected my resonating rune clusters, the result of which is why you are alive" Percy replied with a resigned expression on his face.

"What –"

"Before you ask me any further questions; yes, its because of your mother that you are alive. It's also because she perfected my own theory for her master thesis which saved you from the Killing curse and before you ask Hermione, no you won't get the theory from anywhere. For a short time, it was in the restricted section of Hogwarts library before it was removed. Besides, you shouldn't be worrying about that – its way too advanced for any apprentice, forget about 5th year Hogwarts students" Percy replied with a finality, while cutting Harry off.

"But Dumbledore said that the Killing curse rebounded because of love that Harry's mother had for her son" asked Hermione her arms waving around wildly. It was ground-breaking revelation.

Percy broke into a fit of maniac laughter.

"That sly, old bastard. Tell me something. Do you really think that Lily was the only mother who jumped in front of the killing curse that was meant for her son? There were many others. Why is Harry the only one to survive?" asked Percy his eyebrows raised in a challenging manner.

"Does that –"

"Don't be stupid Harry. Every mother loves her child unconditionally. Well that, and the rune cluster is powered by a willing human sacrifice - the closer the relation, more powerful the sacrifice" said Percy cutting Harry off in the middle again.

"Is that why Dumbledore said that the killing curse was reflected back due to the power of love?" asked George.

Percy gave a grim smile. Trust the twins to ask the most uncomfortable questions.

"Well that and because the phase filters are activated by the rune of love. Do you guys have any idea what runic filters are?" asked Percy with an amused expression. He knew none of them had any idea on these advanced concepts.

Just as he predicted, all of them shook their heads. Percy gave them a smirk.

"You won't be learning about them till your final year of NEWTs. So, don't worry about them for now. I'd be happy to answer any question you may have on your mother but her apprenticeship topic is out of bounds. I won't be answering any questions related to her works" he replied sternly.

"What was she like?" asked Harry in a solemn voice.

Percy let out a heavy sigh. He closed his and began narrating about his time with Lily.

"As a student, she was brilliant. She was a prodigy when it came to runes and potions. Being one myself, I knew it the moment I laid my eyes on her work. She was extremely hard-working, willing to spend days and nights on end on a problem she couldn't solve. She had a fierce dedication to her work and was extremely protective of it. As a human being, well I wouldn't know much. I didn't really put much stock in morality, ethics and stuff. But she had darkness in her that was refreshing to see. She wasn't like a typical Gryffindor - charging head-first into a situation and think later kind of girl. She planned meticulously for all eventualities. Of course, she was brave; she was in the house of lions after all, but her inner Slytherin surfaced from time to time. If she was in the house of snakes, she would have made a perfect dark wizard, or witch" said Percy, his eyes glazed.

"How can you say that? She sacrificed her life for Harry. She was not a dark wizard" exclaimed Hermione. Ron was also glaring at him.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the duo.

"Tell me, do you know what darkness truly is?" Percy asked in a low voice. The room was unnaturally silent.

"If you are dark, it means that you are willing to go at any lengths to secure your interest – be it protecting someone you love or massacring dozen others who try to keep you from reaching your objectives. Lily sacrificed herself to power the rune array so that Harry can live. But you may ask, what about his father? Didn't he sacrifice himself as well? Do you want to know the truth Harry?" asked Percy while directly gazing at him.

Harry gave an audible gulp. He steeled himself and nodded.

"The truth is, James was sacrificed. When Tom first broke through the wards, James went out to delay him so that Lily could escape with you. But she knew that there was no escaping. She deliberately hid James's wand away so that when he met Tom, he was defenseless. Of course, he was fully prepared to fight until death to give you the time to escape. That's why it was a willing sacrifice which powered the outer filters of the rune array. Her death activated the control cluster which in turn powered up the entire array. That is how you survived Harry, all thanks to your mother's inner Slytherin" replied Percy.

The rest of the room was deathly silent. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought that they have stopped breathing.

"I… I don't know what to think. No one has ever told me about my mother in such excruciating detail. I always imagined her to be a kind, soft-spoken woman who liked to stay out of trouble and loved her family unconditionally" Harry muttered. His mind was blank, he didn't really know what to think.

"Correct on all accounts, Harry. She was kind, soft-spoken, liked to stay out of trouble and loved her family very much. The moment Tom broke through their wards, she knew that her and James's lives were forfeit. She couldn't let their sacrifice go in vain. That's why she did what she did. James would have died either way. So why not make him a sacrifice which would ensure your survival?" answered Percy.

"But how can you decide that? How can you make the decision to sacrifice your one love to protect another?" asked Hermione, teary-eyed.

"It's difficult. Not many can do it. James certainly couldn't but like I said, Lily could and did. That's why she was dark. She could make tough choices if it meant protecting her only child in a blink of an eye. She didn't not even give a second thought about her choice to make your father a sacrifice, Harry, all because it would protect you. That's what it means to be dark. Knowing some dark spells and having a penchant for wanton killings and torture won't make you dark. It will simply make you a criminal. All these wannabe dark wizards – known as death eaters - don't even have the foggiest idea what it means to be truly dark" replied Percy in a solemn voice.

"And I look forward to teach them a few lessons for defiling my student's ideals" he muttered in a low voice, his eyes glowing and his face adorning a feral grin, which was noticed by everyone present in the room.

They all shuddered involuntarily. Not for the first time, were they glad that Percy wasn't against them.

"Now before you all hit the bed, I suggest you to stop thinking about this topic. It doesn't really matter whether a person is light or dark. If she is willing to sacrifice herself and her husband so that you survive, you can bet your ass that she loved you more than life itself. That's why Harry, don't be a disgrace to her memory. You need to get your act together and start living. Defeating Tom isn't the only reason you were born. So, make sure you live your life so that your parents would be proud. That means no slacking off on your studies either. You are not an ignorant kid who needs to be spoon-fed. Start using your head more than your arms and legs. Always remember that a wizard's most powerful weapon is his brain" said Percy with a finality. Just as he was about to leave the room, he was stopped by a question from the twins which he had been dreading the most.

"How did you know what happened on that day in so much detail? Were you present when the dark lord attacked the Potters?" they asked in perfect unison.

Percy cursed under his breath. Those damned twins sure knew which questions to ask.

"Let me put it this way. If James hadn't already decided that Sirius would be his godfather, then I would have taken the position, at Lily's request of course. I still remember the row they had on that day" replied a smirking Percy as he slammed the door shut.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. This is the surprise behind Harry's survival of Killing curse. I also tried shedding some light on Lily's personality. I found it absurd that just because she jumped in front of the killing curse, Harry developed some kind of magical shield. I tried to base her sacrifice into something more concrete. The fact that James, having faced Voldemort before, would rush in without a wand. Do tell me if you liked it. Keep reading and reviewing guys. Take care. Toodles!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next few days passed in a breeze for Harry. He got to know several interesting facts about Percy, like how he was absolutely terrified of dolls. No one saw that one coming. It all happened when Molly asked him to take care of a boggart. As soon as he faced the boggart, it took the form of a creepy doll, which Harry had seen many times in horror movies. Percy simply froze in terror. Just as the doll started laughing, Percy, in a brilliant display of his level-headedness, simply blasted the room apart before unleashing a Fiendfyre curse. After burning down the entire room, he turned to Molly giving her a thumbs-up, a triumphant grin on his face.

Needless to say, he got a thorough dressing down from every occupant of the house, even Buckbeak.

Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Percy did not take horror movies very well.

The rest of the days were spent in learning Occlumency and cleaning the house. After Percy's fiasco, he was barred from cleaning, for which he was extremely happy. He could be often found holed up in his room, poring over parchments containing runes and arithmancy equations that no one could identify.

Another quirk of Percy, which Harry found extremely amusing, is his dislike for portkey travel. He could never seem to manage to land on his feet. It came to light when Percy had to take Hermione and Ginny to Diagon alley. He wanted to apparate but the girls' dislike for apparition forced him to use portkey. Needless to say, the girls made fun of him for the whole day. Even after bribing them with ice-creams, the entire house knew about his quirk by dinner time.

Harry felt inexplicably bitter when Ron was made a prefect. Hermione's, he could understand but with Ron's selection, he felt as if Dumbledore was trying to ignore him. He found a kindred spirit in Percy, who much to the twin's delight, sneered at Ron when he was showing off his prefect badge.

The twins were more than happy with Percy's lessons in runes, potions and arithmancy. In potions, they learnt more in a month than they ever did from Snape. By the time they went back to Hogwarts, they were combining principles of arithmancy and were creating potions from scratch. Percy was extremely happy with their learning curve.

* * *

A week before Hogwarts reopened, Percy reported for his duties. After a thorough cleaning of Hagrid's hut followed by plenty of expansion and security charms, he finally settled in. He also put up an early warning ward which he designed with Bill's help during his stay in Grimmauld Place. It was a rather ingenious piece of intent-based rune work - anything having the Dark Mark gets fried and blasted back to kingdom come. He is always alerted by a proximity ward surrounding the custom-made ward. After his 2-day overhaul of Hagrid's hut, it was completely unrecognizable. He smirked in satisfaction.

A quick survey of the forbidden forest told him that there was an overpopulation of acromantulas. Apparently, Hagrid was a total sucker for dangerous and vicious creatures. He sneered in disgust at the colony of the spiders. Over the next few days, flashes of light and smoke could be seen rising from the forest. Dumbledore could have sworn he saw a giant snake made of fire dive in between the trees, followed by a huge fireball. Three days of spell-casting later, the acromantula colony was almost wiped out. The survivors fled into the deeper parts of the forest. Satisfied with his handiwork, he finally relaxed and began working with a rather complicated looking set of arithmancy equations.

* * *

Percy was grumbling continuously. He didn't expect that dealing with first year kids was a part of his job description. His job of gathering the new students and bringing them up to the castle left him continuously muttering profanities at his luck.

"Listen up brats! I won't be repeating myself again. Until you reach the castle, you are to follow my instructions as if your life depends on it. Any back talking and you will find yourself being fed to the squid. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir" they all chorused, thoroughly frightened.

"All of you will follow me to the boats. No more than four in a boat. Any arguing and you will find yourself at the bottom of the lake. Now chop chop. I haven't got all day to deal with you snot-nosed brats"

Despite Percy's less than amiable behaviour, the boat ride was thoroughly enjoyed by the kids. They all had awe-struck expressions on their faces when they caught the first glimpse of Hogwarts. Percy secretly smiled to himself.

Just as they gathered around the platform in front of the huge oak front door, Percy saw Filch, the caretaker, waiting for them.

"Filth" he sneered at him, "what are you doing here? Where's McGonagall?"

"She's currently busy with something else and wants me to tell you that you have to lead them" he said pointing towards the kids "to the waiting chambers".

"Fine. Now make yourself scarce" he grumbled at him while making shooing motion with hands at him. Filch gave him a death glare before stalking off, his cat in tow.

With a heavy sigh, he opened the doors and lead them to the waiting chambers.

 _Might as well give them the cursory introduction,_ he mused.

"Alright brats!" he barked at them "I have been tasked to formally welcome you to Hogwarts. Well, welcome to Hogwarts. Now that the useless pleasantries are out of the way, listen up. You will be sorted into four houses – Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. You will remain in these houses for the rest of your time in Hogwarts, i.e. all 7 years. These houses will be your family here – you will eat with them, sleep with them and all that sh…crap". His speech was followed by bunch of sniggers while some looked scandalized. He ignored them and continued.

"Any of your achievements will be reflected on your house points. Any of you stupid enough to get caught while breaking rules will lose house points. As you might have guessed, i.e. if you have any brains underneath those thick skulls and know how to use it, the houses are named after the four founders of Hogwarts. They sort you on the basis of your dominant character. Gryffindor for those who are brave and courageous; Ravenclaw for those who desire knowledge above anything else; Hufflepuff for those who are loyal and hard-working and the finally the best, Slytherin for those who are cunning and ambitious. At the end of a year, the house with most points will win the house cup. Now which of you idiot have questions?" he asked while looking around them. It seemed no one had any. Just as he was about to turn, a small mousy looking boy raised his trembling hand. Percy let out a tired sigh.

"What is it?" he asked gruffly.

"Erm… Sir, I was wondering…er…how is the sorting done? Would we have to fight a mountain troll?" he asked while wringing his hands in anxiety.

"Good lord! Just what kind of an idiot are you? Do you think anyone would let an 11-year old fight a mountain troll? They won't even let you fight each other. They will simply put a hat on you and it will sort you" he replied bluntly. He could smell the Weasley twins off of them. On seeing their relieved faces, he simply sighed in pity.

"You are all such a bunch of idiotic sh…"

"Percy" came the voice of McGonagall. He whipped his head around so fast that he was surprised that he didn't get a whiplash. He saw Minerva McGonagall standing at the door with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

"Minerva! Good to see you finally. I was getting desperate dealing with these brats. They are all yours. See ya at the feast" he replied and shot off like a bullet.

* * *

Harry was furiously trying to look for Percy in the Great Hall. When he was arriving, he received a note from Percy asking him to meet him at the end of the fest, alone.

"Who are you looking for Harry?" asked Hermione. She couldn't help but notice him looking frantically around for someone.

"Percy. He asked me to look for him and meet him after the feast, alone" he replied.

Even though Harry couldn't find Percy, he did see a woman with toad-like face sitting at the faculty table. He immediately guessed that it was the new DADA teacher.

"You see that woman with the toad-like face? She was at my trial" said Harry. Both Hermione and Ron looked around the faculty table. Ron spotted her first.

"Ah yes, the woman wearing a lot of pink. She's Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister. Dad reckons she's the Minister's personal bitch" said Ron.

"Language Ronald! You cannot talk like that about your teachers" Hermione exclaimed. Ron simply gave a noncommittal shrug.

"She was awfully desperate to see me punished" Harry observed.

The doors of the Great Hall suddenly banged open and Percy walked in, humming a tune to himself. He was ignoring all the stares that were directed at him as he walked leisurely towards the faculty table. Dumbledore was frowning at him while Umbridge had a mad glint in her eyes. He climbed the short flight of stairs and walked towards Umbridge. He stopped his humming and looked at her like she was some kind of a bug.

"Move. You are occupying my seat" he told her gruffly.

The entire hall was stunned into silence. Everybody knew who Umbridge was. No one dared to mess with her. Yet here he was, a guy who no one has ever seen before, was ordering her to vacate her seat.

"Excuse me!" Umbridge began indignantly, "just who do you think you are mister? I am the senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic himself. How dare you talk to me like that? I'll have to ask you to apologize" she said in her high-pitched toad-like voice.

"The new game keeper. So, move out of my seat now or I'll have to move you" he replied, ignoring everything she said.

Mutterings were heard from the rest of the hall. No one could believe what they were seeing. A lowly gamekeeper bullying a ministry employee, that too a big fish. The twins had identical wide grins on their faces and were placing bets.

Hermione had a scandalized look on her face. She never really liked Percy because of his high–handed attitude. And here he was, bullying a teacher and a ministry employee, just because she happened to occupy his seat unknowingly. She saw Harry and Ron having an impressed smile on their faces.

"How could you support this? She is a teacher and is a ministry employee. She shouldn't be bullied" she asked them in a scathing tone.

"Dad was always frustrated with her condescending attitude at work. Also, Harry just now said that she was desperate to punish him. I think it's good that she's being bullied" replied Ron. Hermione harrumphed and turned towards the faculty table.

Daphne Greengrass heard tales about Percy from her mother. She never met him in person, until this summer. Needless to say, she was thoroughly impressed with him.

"Hey Daph, do you know who that guy is?" asked her best friend, Tracey.

"Yes, I met him this summer. He came to visit father. His name is Percy Jackson" she replied evenly, not a hint of emotion in her voice. Truth be told, Percy was her godfather. She never knew it until this summer. When her mother told her at first, she couldn't believe it. Only after it was confirmed by her father that she finally accepted it. For the next few days, she was extremely bitter. What kind of godfather doesn't even visit his god-daughter once since she was born? She refused to talk about him ever since.

However, Tracey was her best friend for a reason. Having grown up together since their childhood, she could exactly tell what her friend was feeling.

"Alright Daph, something is up with you. Spill. Do you have a crush on him? It's perfectly plausible. He is tall, handsome and I can tell from here that he has a body to die for underneath that shirt, in spite of looking like he's in late twenties. Why, I knew Millie here–…"

"Relax Tracey, I don't have a crush on him. Don't let his looks fool you. He's at least in his fifties, if not more. He's my godfather, the one I never even knew or met, until this summer" Daphne replied cutting Tracey off mid-rant, while trying hard to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

The girls in the Slytherin table all looked at her in horror. Even Pansy, who usually hung around Malfoy was looking at her with wide-eyes. Tracey was downright horrified.

"You mean to say that…that hottie is your godfather? Are you sure you are not confusing him with someone else? He really doesn't look that old"

"No, I'm not, Tracey. And get this, my mother was his apprentice for runes, along with Lily Potter" Daphne replied.

The rest of the Slytherin table was stunned into silence. A few of them noticed Percy casting a wandless switching spell with a wave of his hand on Umbridge. Even Draco, who usually avoided her after a disastrous confession attempt in his fourth year, was ignoring Pansy and looking at her with new interest.

"If he is a master in Runes, why is he here as a gamekeeper then?" asked Blaise Zabini. He was a tall, dark boy with Italian origin. He was another of her few friends and was extremely observant.

"I don't know. I didn't think I'd ever see him again" she confessed.

Meanwhile, Umbridge was fuming at her seat. Percy switched her seat with another in the far corner of the table with a lazy wave of his hand. He simply gave her a bored look and ignored her for the rest of the feast. The rest of the teachers were trying hard to control their smirks.

Professor McGonagall finally arrived with the kids. Percy simply tuned out the rest of the feast was impatiently waiting for the dinner. When the sorting was done, he simply dug in, giving a short nod to Flitwick and ignoring everyone else.

After the food vanished, he again ignored Dumbledore's welcoming speech and started working on some complicated looking arithmancy equations, much to the chagrin of the deputy Headmistress, while Flitwick and Snape simply looked amused. Professor Septima Vector was trying to peek over his shoulder at his notes.

He was interrupted with a jolt. He looked around to see the deputy Headmistress frowning at him while the rest of the faculty table was pointedly looking at him. He then saw the Headmaster looking at him expectantly. He rose up from his chair and gave a short nod to the hall before diving back into his equations. The entire applauded and broke into sniggers.

* * *

As the dinner was finished and Harry was walking back to his dorm, he suddenly felt a hand on his mouth and another hand in his torso before he was whisked away. None of the Gryffindor prefects realised that their best friend was whisked away right under their noses.

"Pathetic" a familiar voice drawled. Harry turned around to see Percy standing in the room. The one who abducted him slunk back into the shadows. Harry couldn't get a look at his kidnapper's face.

"So, it's this easy to kidnap the Boy-Who-Lived, from right under the noses of his friends. Tell me Harry, are you always this oblivious or this one was a special case? Seekers are supposed to have a heightened situational awareness. No matter, I'm reserving my judgement for the future" Percy drawled with his trademarked bored look on his face.

"Why am I here? Who was the guy that kidnapped me? What do you want?" Harry asked while looking around the room.

"Hold your horses. You will meet me this Sunday at 4pm in the Chamber of Secrets along with these two ladies" he replied while handing him two photos. Though Harry couldn't recognise any of the girls, he knew that they were important to Percy.

"Who are they?" he asked. Percy simply gave him a smile before continuing, "they will be waiting for you. Don't be late for any reason. Good luck. Now run along" and he slunk back into the darkness before melting into the shadows.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. Here's an update after a long time. This is more like a filler chapter before the story proceeds further. Hope you enjoy it. Keep reading and reviewing. Deathstalker11 out. Toodles!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next day, Harry woke up early. He wanted answers from Percy and the best time to catch him would be before breakfast, while he'd be still sleepy and disoriented. He finished his morning rituals and got out of the hall towards Hagrid' cabin, now Percy's.

As he tried knocking, he found that the door was slightly ajar. He had a smirk on his face. With Percy continuously berating him for his naivety and obliviousness, he found an opportunity for payback. He slowly opened the door, took out his wand and crept inside.

The first thing he observed that the hut was magically expanded inside and was clean. It looked so different from Hagrid's that for a moment, he thought he was in the wrong place. The shelves were filled with various books and magical instruments. He lit the tip of his wand and started looking around. There was a staircase leading towards the roof.

The second thing he observed, after climbing the flight of stairs, was that he was in a narrow corridor with, presumably, bedrooms on either side. He slowly walked towards the largest bedroom, thinking it would be Percy's. As he was about to open the door, he heard muffled sounds coming from the room. Thinking that Percy might be in danger, he kicked open the door and entered inside, his wand tip glowing red.

The third thing he observed was that there were three girls sitting on the bed, bound and muzzled. They were struggling to break their bonds in vain. Fearing the worst, Harry turned around. The last thing he saw was a flash of red light before darkness filled his vision.

When his vision returned, he found himself sitting on a chair. As he looked around, he found the three girls in similar condition. They were no longer bound but none of them had their wands. When he tried getting up from the chair, he found himself stuck to the chair.

 _Sticking Charm_ , he mused.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked those three girls. He then realised that two of those girls were from the photo Percy gave him yesterday and the third one was Susan Bones, fifth year from Hufflepuff.

"We are perfectly fine Potter. Well if you discount the fact that we were stunned, bound and relieved of our wands" Daphne snapped at him.

Just as he was about to retort, he heard a someone clapping.

"Excellent work you guys. You have successfully managed to get yourself captured and become hostages" Percy drawled in, clapping all the while.

"Let us go" Susan gritted her teeth, her voice tight. Percy looked at her and narrowed his eyes.

Being the niece of the head of the DMLE, Susan was taught Occlumency a long time back. Even though her shields were not that impressive, it was good enough to delay her aunt, an accomplished Legilimens, long enough to break eye contact. However, for the first time in her life, she could not break her eye contact. Her shields were simply bypassed and her surface thoughts became public. All this took place in a matter of seconds. She saw Percy smirking at her.

"Good attempt at Occlumency, Miss Bones. I'm impressed with your shields and mindscape. Did Amelia teach you?" Percy asked, his eyes closed as he conjured another chair with a flick of his wand and sat down facing them.

"Yes, she taught me. I thought it was good enough for most Legilimens to find themselves in trouble" she replied while gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Well I'm not like most Legilimens. You will find it impossible to shield your thoughts from me. But you should not feel bad about it. More accomplished and better wizards than you couldn't do it" Percy replied with a smile.

"That's all well and good but let us go now Percy else we will be late for breakfast and classes" Daphne drawled in. Percy gave her a smirk.

"I'm not the one to invite you in my home. You broke in and now you find yourself captured. Tell me, why did you find the need to break in to my house?" he asked while looking at Harry.

"Why do we have to meet you in the Chamber of Secrets this Sunday?" asked Harry, his eyes narrowed.

"Do you have a problem with the place or meeting me?" Percy asked with a condescending smirk.

"Meeting you part" replied Harry just as Tracey replied, "With the place".

"As far as the place goes, I'm sure Harry here knows the entrance, do you not Harry? So, you three girls will be waiting for him at the entrance. If Harry arrives first, then you'll be waiting for them" he replied while waving at the girls.

"Now why do we have to meet you?" Harry asked just as Daphne asked, "why do we have to wait for him?"

"It's because the chamber can only be opened by a parseltongue. If you don't wait for him, you can't enter the chamber" replied Percy.

"Now as for meeting me, all of your parents or guardians know me personally. I have been requested by them to train you in light of recent...revelations" he replied while waving at Harry.

"How do you know them?" asked Tracey just as Harry asked, "Who asked you?"

Percy gave a disturbing grin and replied, "As far as Miss Davies goes, I don't know your parents personally but they were present when Daphne's parents requested me. So, they jumped in and asked me to train both of you. I accepted it because I have nothing better to do as the gamekeeper. I have already got rid of most of the dangerous animals from the forest. Now as for Miss Bones here, Amelia was under my command when she was a rookie auror. I did save her life a few times before I was reassigned. As for you Harry, Dumbledore asked me to teach you how to think, behave and fight like a dueller instead of a naïve, bumbling and idiotic child".

"Now before you go back for breakfast, there are somethings you should be aware of. Firstly, instead of waking up early to break into peoples' houses, wake up early and go for a morning run around the ground. It should increase your stamina. If I see any of you girls dieting, I would kidnap you again and force feed you. Secondly, you should all be aware of Umbridge. Don't get on her bad side, especially you Harry. She'll try her best to discredit you, accuse you of murder and call you a liar but don't lose your temper. Practise Occlumency and keep your emotions in check - that goes for all of you. Thirdly and lastly, I'm not a professor; I won't be teaching you subjects like charms and transfiguration. I'll be teaching you how to fight and how to survive. These are desperate times. Any fights you are involved in outside of these walls, it'd be a fight unto death. You survive, you win. To do that, I'll teach you whatever spells or tactics we'll find necessary. Some of them might be unpleasant and some might be dark. But at the end of the day, you will live and your enemy will die. That is your motive. Therefore, when I'm teaching you, you will follow my orders as if your life depends on it, because it most likely will. Any foolishness and you will walk away from here. I'm not obliged to teach you. This is me doing a favour for your parents or guardians. Now run along for your breakfast" said Percy before lazily waving his hand over them, releasing the sticking charms. They scampered to the table where their wands were kept and retrieved them before exiting his house in a frenzy.

* * *

Harry was silently thanking Percy for his Occlumency lessons. He was sure that without it, he'd have already earned himself a detention by now, along with loss of house points. Their new DADA teacher was grating on their nerves. First, she announces that there would be no practical – they wouldn't be practicing the spells before their OWLs. Next, he observed she favoured pure-bloods over others. She was determined to make him appear as a liar but he heeded Percy's advice and kept his head down. After the class ended, he was confronted by Ron and Hermione.

"Harry, how could you remain silent? She was disgracing you and called you a liar. She also implied that you had murdered Cedric to win the trophy. It's not like you to keep your head down while she throws about accusations" Hermione said while frantically waving her hands about.

"Yea mate, I could have used some help. I thought you'd be the one to stand up against her" said Ron while nodding his head. He had landed in detention because he supported Harry and his claims.

"And what good will it do? I would have landed in detention as well and lost us house points. She's dangerous and vicious. We need to play this safely. There's no telling how far she would go to discredit me. Besides, Percy had already warned me about her and his occlumency lessons helped me with my temper a lot during this summer. Now, I'm no expert like Susan or Daphne but I can at least keep a leash on my emotions" Harry replied while expertly dodging people in the Great Hall. It was lunch time and he was rather hungry and tired.

"What did he want with you yesterday? You did meet him, didn't you?" asked Hemione.

"He wants to make a soldier out of me" replied Harry while piling a particularly juicy looking bacon strip on his plate.

"And how exactly he's gonna do that?" she asked, her eyebrows raised while inching away from Ron.

"That I dunno, but he'll teach us some spells and tactics, whatever he feels necessary. He wants to make me fight like a veteran, instead of a clumsy idiot who gets lucky all the time" Harry replied, while surreptitiously stealing a tomato from her.

"I doubt Dumbledore would approve with whatever he felt necessary" she replied with a huff while looking suspiciously at Ron who was scarfing down tomatoes along with bacon.

"He did tell us that some of the spell he'll teach are of…questionable legality but it'd help us to defend ourselves from those who are out to kill us. The others readily agreed with him. Who am I to take on a moral high ground? I saw him using the Imperious curse on my cousin to make him walk back to our house on his own, simply because it was convenient. I doubt if he even has some kind of moral boundaries regarding magic. Don't you know that he was the one to develop the Fiendfyre curse?" asked Harry while slowly moving his plate away from Ron's reach, who was eyeing his plate like a hungry dog.

"Who are the others?" asked Hermione while glaring at Ron for his table manners.

"Susan Bones from Hufflepuff, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davies from Slytherin" he replied while searching for them in their respective tables.

"I know Daphne and Tracey. She takes Ancient Runes and Arithmancy with me. She's very good at them" she replied absent-mindedly.

"Apparently, Percy is her god-father" Harry said while trying to finish his lunch.

"Wait a minute, Harry here would have to learn the cool stuff with a bunch of snakes?" asked Ron with an incredulous look on his face, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Congratulations Ron for your keen powers of observation. Out of everything we've been talking, you only noticed the fact that he'll be learning 'the cool stuff' with a bunch of snakes" Hermione replied scathingly, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

* * *

That night, Harry was sitting on his bed, wide awake while the rest of his dorm mates were sleeping. Ron was snoring loud enough to be heard by the girls' in their own dorm. He was sitting in Indian style trying erect shields to protect his mindscape.

Later that day, he cornered Susan and asked for her advice for Occlumency. She told him to first erect shields to protect his mindscape. The shields could be anything, from brick walls to muggle traps. Once he finishes erecting the shields, he needs an expert Legilimens to repeatedly invade his mind and point out the flaws in his shields.

 _Lucky for me I don't need to go looking for an expert Legilimens who will freely point out my shortcomings,_ he mused with a wry smile.

Erecting shields, was however, quite tiring to Harry. He needed to visualize the shield in complete detail. The time in his mindscape ran faster than in the real world. That's why he chose the night time, so that even if he lost track of the time, there will be no consequences. For the next three hours in his mindscape, he erected shields. His mindscape was the maze he was forced to face in his third task, back in his fourth year. He enclosed the entire maze in a dome. The maze itself was riddled with numerous traps. However, since everything was in his mind, any expert Legilimens can simply wrest the control of his mindscape from him and will be free to wreak havoc unchecked. That's why he needed Percy to start invading his mind to harden his defences.

He was sorting his memories and laying down his traps when suddenly his vision changed. He was at walking down a long, narrow corridor. He reached for the door knob but as soon as he touched it, he jerked and sat up on his bed. He was breathing heavily and the first rays of the sun started entering through the windows.

 _What the hell was that dream,_ he muttered under his breath as he got up and started changing for his morning run. The girls told him yesterday that they'd be waiting for him and threatened him with castration if he was late.

 _Better get going then. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or a witch,_ he muttered again.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. I'm trying to change the mechanics of Occlumency. In many fanfics, I've seen Harry discovers Voldemort's soul piece because of his occlumency. I find it illogical. Therefore, I'm trying to come up with a more logical sounding explanation for the mind arts. If you have any ideas, feel free to msg me. Keep reading and reviewing. Deathstalker11 out. Take care. Toodles!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Harry would never say it out aloud but he was extremely grateful for his occlumency skills. When he came out into the ground, he had to use every shred of his occlumency training to avoid becoming a drooling mess. He was greeted with the sight of three extremely beautiful girls in form fitting tank tops waiting for him. The fact that they were all curvaceous and gorgeous definitely didn't help matters. His brain was working overtime to maintain his muscular coordination alone. As a result, he was standing and staring at them stupidly, not knowing what to say or to do.

"Daph, I think we broke him" said Tracy while giggling at Harry. Daphne raised an eyebrow and gave a challenging smirk.

"Good morning to you too Harry. Glad to see you are as eloquent as ever" said Susan with an amused smile on her face. Harry turned towards the red-haired beauty and made a perfect imitation of a fish.

"Well you can hardly blame me for my temporary lack of cognitive abilities. I think a re-introduction is in order since we'd be training together and all. Hello, my name is Harry Potter, as you all know, and it's nice to meet three gorgeous ladies such as yourselves" replied Harry when he finally remembered to speak.

"Hello Potter, I am Tracy and it's nice to finally meet the Boy-Who-Lived" Tracy introduced herself while giggling.

"We can all introduce ourselves while running. So, let's not dilly-dally and get going. I'm Daphne Greengrass by the way" replied Daphne with an amused smirk while jogging. The rest of them started jogging after her.

"Well you all know me but nevertheless, I'm Susan Bones and it's nice to meet you all" replied Susan while running beside Daphne. Not willing to be left behind, Harry started running after them and quickly caught up.

Running between three busty girls had some unforeseen problems. Harry had a difficult time to keep his eyes fixed on the ground and to keep a hold on his imagination. Not for the first time, his eyes drifted towards the chest of Daphne, who was beside him. Just as fate would have it, his feet got caught in some roots and he tripped, landing on his face.

"Eyes on the ground in front Potter, not towards my chest" Daphne snarked back as a giggling Susan helped him up.

"Er…sorry…I'm not that good in occlumency yet but I'm trying my best" Harry replied while starting to run again. Tracy broke into a fit of giggles again.

* * *

"You woke up quite early today mate. Where'd you go?" asked Ron when he came for breakfast. Harry was already seated with Hermione who was poring over a book on transfiguration.

"Went for a morning run" Harry replied absent-mindedly. Hermione perked up her head and looked at Harry critically. He began shifting uncomfortably under Hermione's gaze.

"Since when did you start waking up early and go for morning run?" asked Ron in an incredulous tone. Even Hermione was interested in his reply.

"Since today, Ron. Percy's orders. The girls and I are going for morning run every day from today. I'd have invited you but I doubt you wish to wake up at 6am in the morning from your beauty sleep" Harry replied gruffly while piling his plate with scrambled eggs. Ron simply huffed and started scarfing down his food. Hermione gave a disgusted expression and turned towards Harry.

"Why did he suddenly ask you to run every morning? Is this a part of his training regimen?" she asked Harry, who was trying to avoid looking at Ron, lest he loses his appetite.

"Yes, it's a part of his training regimen. The more physically fit our bodies are, the easier it is to feel the flow of magic. It helps to enhance your control over your magic, which in turn, is extremely beneficial because you'd require less magical power to achieve the same results. He said something about increasing magical concentration which I didn't exactly understand but the point is, if I use less power to achieve same results, I can keep fighting longer" replied Harry.

"Or you can use the same amount of power for more pronounced effect" finished Hermione with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Are there any books on this? Relationship between physical health and magical power usage?" she asked.

"Didn't ask him. Who cares about reading books for this?" replied Harry with a non-committal shrug. Hermione looked scandalized and left for her class with a huff.

"She's barmy, mate. Who reads books for every damn topic on this planet? But are you sure you want to hang out with a couple of slimy Slytherins and a good-for-nothing 'puff?" asked Ron with a concerned expression on his face. Harry couldn't decide whether to laugh at him, hex him or to bang his head on the table in frustration. He finally decided against doing anything of the sort and simply gave him a short nod before walking out.

"Oi! Wait for me, ya git"

* * *

The rest of the week passed uneventfully for Harry – well, as uneventful as his life can be. If one can ignore the ministry hag, taunts from Draco, unresponsive and mysteriously disappearing headmaster and a sulking Snape who takes out his frustrations on him, his life is pretty uneventful. On a more surprising twist, the Weasley twins were spending a lot of time with Percy and they could be often seen to be working on complicated runes and potions projects, the likes of which left even Hermione stumped. Ron had a scandalized look on his face when he first saw them working on runes like good little Ravenclaws. No one could get any answers from them about their projects – even their best friend Lee Jordan.

Harry's occlumency practice – cum – morning runs were coming along perfectly. He befriended the girls and found out that many Slytherins were tired of Draco's behaviour. The only reason he was unpunished was because of his father who was in the board of governors. They have bonded over the period of one week and soon, their first meeting with Percy came up.

* * *

The girls were once again waiting for Harry at the entrance to the chamber of secrets – the bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle.

"Potter, care to enlighten us about why the entrance to the Slytherin's chambers is in a girls' toilet, haunted by Myrtle?" asked Daphne in an exasperated tone when Harry entered the bathroom.

"I think the better question would be – how did you know that the entrance is in a girls' toilet? Do you go around the castle checking the girls' toilet for any secrets?" Susan asked teasingly. Tracy giggled.

"It's a long story. Now if you are done taking the mickey out of me, I'd like to proceed with the plan. I don't want to be late, knowing Percy's reaction to tardiness" Harry replied shortly as he caressed the taps on the washbasin. His face broke into a grin when he felt the snake etched on the taps.

" _Open"_ he hissed in parseltongue.

The girls shuddered in fright. It was extremely disturbing to hear parseltongue. All they could hear was Harry hissing like a snake. The washbasins separated and sank on the floor, creating a long tunnel.

" _Stairs"_ he hissed again in parseltongue. The girls shuddered again. It seemed as if the language itself had a sentient ability to induce fear into non-speakers.

"Follow me and stay close. Lighting charms on all wands. It's extremely dark and dreary down there" Harry ordered while the girls meekly nodded in agreement.

They followed Harry down the winding tunnel in silence. Not a word was spoken – it was as if they were all being led to their execution. When they came across the basilisk-skin, Tracy shrieked out in terror. She hated snakes and here was the skin of a monstrous one right under her feet.

"Relax Tracy, this is just the dead skin. The actual snake is far bigger and worse than this skin. I suspect it was shed a very long time ago" Harry replied while carefully bypassing the collapsed portion. They all meekly followed him until they came upon a circular metal gate.

" _Open"_ he hissed again causing the snakes on the gate to move through a lock and the gate swung open.

"Will you stop hissing? It is quite disturbing to hear you hiss, especially when we are standing in what seems to be a sewer" Susan snapped waspishly.

"Blame Salazar Slytherin, not me" Harry replied while raising his hands in mock surrender.

As they opened the gate and entered, a queer sight greeted them.

Percy was half inside the mouth a gigantic dead snake softly whispering in parseltongue, which made the girls shudder in fright, with something similar to a syringe in his hands, which were buried in the roof of the serpent's mouth.

"Percy"

"Mm-hmm?"

"What exactly are you doing inside the basilisk's mouth?"

"I'm extracting her venom. Sally still has a lot of venom that needs to be extracted before her corpse decays into nothing"

"Er…excuse me but did you just call that…that monstrosity _Sally_?"

"Why yes, I did Daphne. I named her when I was in my third year at Hogwarts. Poor Sally was always lonely, so I often used to come down here during my free time. There was Salazar's personal library in there" he waved his left hand over a huge bust of Slytherin before continuing, "but I have cleared it out before leaving Hogwarts. Couldn't let Tom get his hands on those books else we'd have had another Grindelwald on our hands" he muttered as he stabbed his syringe – thingy again.

"So that is the legendary Slytherin's monster?" asked Susan in awe. The snake was huge, about 80ft in length and 3ft in width. Tracy was unusually silent. She refused to look anywhere near the snake, which was difficult because it covered almost the entire chamber.

Finally, with a satisfied smirk, Percy jumped down from his perch and stowed away the vials filled with basilisk venom.

"You are done collecting the venom?" asked Tracy hotly.

"For today yes. One more week and I'll have all of Sally's venom. Then I'll proceed with her fangs and so on. Now that we are here, ladies and gentleman, welcome to the chamber of secrets" He replied with a bow.

"So, what will we be learning today?" asked Harry who was unusually quiet.

"You will learn how to fight. You all know a few basic –"

"With all due respect, we all know how to fight. We are not some first years who don't know how to hold a wand" replied Harry, his tone dark and challenging. Seeing the basilisk brought back disturbing memories which he never told anyone, even Ron and Hermione.

Percy raised his eyebrows. He was usually quite patient but Harry today cut him off mid-speech, something which irritated him to no ends. It also did not help matters that he saw Sally lying dead, skewered through the head. Also, he hated arrogant idiots like James Potter, someone Harry resembled quite closely, both in his looks and behaviour.

"Is that so? I suppose the rest of you agree with him? Well, you do have a point after all. You all grew up in a magical background, well known pureblood families, except for Harry here. And as for you – I have heard that you have quite the magical potential and all that stuff; being able to cast the Patronus charm perfectly. Alright, we'll have it your way – follow me. If you all know how to fight, you shouldn't be worried if I test you a little" he replied with a disturbing grin on his face which unsettled the others.

"Er… I don't really know how to fight. So, can I skip the test?" asked Tracy in a small voice.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's quite easy actually, besides the others know how to fight – they can easily protect you" He replied while waving away her concerns.

The group followed him out of the chambers into a tunnel; which led into a clearing right in the middle of Forbidden Forest. Harry and the girls had their wands out; their tips alight and sweeping in various directions.

"You are in the middle of the forest; in the lair of acromantulas. Your objective is to neutralize them while protecting Tracy. If you fail to do so, you die" said Percy while adorning a sinister smile on his face, ignoring the outraged expressions of the others. Tracy was downright shivering in fright while Susan was clutching Daphne's arm tightly. Harry had an indignant expression on his face while Daphne was completely pale. They couldn't believe that Percy would leave them in the middle of the forest in the midst of acromantulas to fend for themselves.

"Good luck guys–you will definitely need it. Oh, and Harry knows the spell to repel those eight–legged buggers" he said while disappearing in the shadows.

"You have got to be kidding me" exclaimed Harry as he spotted eight spiders approaching them from the south side.

"Oh bugger" Daphne swore as she pointed her wand towards the incoming spiders.

* * *

Needless to say, they were thoroughly smacked around before being bitten. Tracy was first to go down, something which didn't sit well with the others. While she was still alive; the spiders were all juveniles and their venom would only cause unconsciousness at best, the group didn't know that and assumed she died. Daphne, in her fury, cast an overpowered incendio charm and surrounded themselves with fire, which kept the spiders at bay, but it didn't hold out for long. Their stunners, knock back jinxes, blasting hexes – nothing affected those spiders. Their tough exoskeleton armour proved to be spell-resistant and soon, Harry and the girls were overrun.

Daphne was panting hard; she was bitten twice and her left shoulder was dislocated. She was drowsy and was at her last legs. If she didn't do something, they'll all die. Just as she raised her wand and was about to cast an overpowered blasting hex at an approaching spider, the spider was yanked back by an invisible force before it erupted into fire. Susan and Harry, lying beside her, gave a gasp as they saw Percy approaching them, surrounded by two gigantic basilisks made of fire. The fiery serpents reminded them of the snake they saw at the Slytherin's chambers just a few hours before – they were nearly 80ft long and 3ft wide with eyes as green as the killing curse. The three of them watched in morbid fascination as the serpents dove into the group acromantulas, causing a small explosion. Roasted spider parts rained down on them – which caused Susan to turn green. The spiders were all purged within the next few minutes and calm descended on the clearing. Just before she lost her consciousness, she saw Percy looking at them with what she discerned to be disappointment. Surrounded by fiery serpents with glowing emerald green eyes towering over him, he looked like an avenging angel rising from the pits of hell.

 **Hi guys! Deathstalker11 here. In case some of you were wondering, the idea for this chapter was taken from 'The Runaway from the sea and the Great Wizard War' by Saxiel. I'd suggest you read it as it's quite unconventional from the generic HP/PJO crossovers. The updates from here on, though regular, but will be far in between. However, the story is still on and any suggestions and reviews are always welcome. Deathstalker11 out! Toodles!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys… this past few months have been quite hectic for me. I couldn't work on this story simply because I didn't find any time. However, a lot of people are asking me to continue with this story. Therefore, if anyone is interested, they can certainly adopt it. Please do PM me and I'll send all my manuscripts that I have for this story. Of course, feel free to modify or rewrite it at your discretion.**

 **Thanks a lot guys for all the reviews and love. Until next time.**

 **Deathstalker11 out! Toodles!**


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